Two OTUs from AS clone library belonged to the phylum Nitrospira, which are facultative chemolithoautotrophic nitrite oxidizing bacteria [51]. We also obtained one phylotype from AS clone library

related to the Cyanobacteria, an oxygen evolving and chlorophyll containing photosynthetic bacterium. Our agricultural clone libraries did not suggest an abundance of nitrite-oxidizing Nitrospira and phototrophic Cyanobacteria in the soil, a few sequences were identified and more may be present because the rarefaction curves (Additional file 6: Figure S4b) did not reach an asymptote. The Gammaproteobacteria sequences in SS2 clone library were related to the phototrophic Ectothiorhodospira, an alkaliphilic and halophilic purple sulphur bacterium from soda lake [52]. The phylotype HSS148 was distantly related (88%) to the chemolithotroph Thioalkalivibrio, Tubastatin A which oxidizes buy H 89 sulphide or thiosulphate with molecular oxygen. Nine OTUs from Deltaproteobacteria (SS1 clone library) fell into the order Desulfovibrionales, which oxidizes reduced sulphur compounds using a variety

of electron acceptors. The light penetration through soil is minimal [53] however, the presence of Chloroflexi (filamentous anoxygenic phototrophs) in deeper soil layers (0 to 10 cm) was observed in all three soil samples. This can be justified by the fact that light of higher wavelengths has the potential to penetrate deeper into the soil [54], which are used by the Chloroflexi[27]. Many of the sequences from saline soils have been previously reported from different saline environments, and the current study added significantly to the genetic pool of extreme and normal terrestrial habitats. The diversity and composition of the bacterial community along the three soil habitats varied with increase in salinity (Figure 3). The change in the relative proportion of the Betaproteobacteria from agricultural to saline soil habitats is particularly

more apparent. Wu et al. (2006) [40] reported that with increasing salinity, the relative abundance of Betaproteobacteria decreases while that of Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria increases. The low salinity of agricultural soil may, therefore, explain the high Betaproteobacteria diversity in AS clone library. The relative abundance of the Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria Ponatinib does not show any systematic change. Alphaproteobacteria were abundant in AS clone library and Gammaproteobacteria were abundant in the saline soil clone libraries (Figure 3). Hansel et al. (2003) [55] showed the inverse buy Trametinib relationship between carbon availability and abundance of Acidobacteria. However, the Acidobacteria group in our study did not show such relationship. The Acidobacteria sequences retrieved from the poor carbon saline soils was only 0.5%, but they were abundant (14.6%) in agricultural soil. The possible explanation for this may be the difference in other physico-chemical properties of the soils.