THE SURVIVAL STRATEGY OF HALO-ALKALIPHILIC CYANOBACTERIA IN WINTER IN HIGH-LATITUDE ALKALINE SODA LAKES, CANADA

The Cariboo Plateau in Canada is home to some alkaline soda lakes. During the approximately six-month winter, these soda lakes are covered with ice and snow. As spring arrives, the ice and snow begin to melt, and microbial mats dominated by halo-alkaliphilic cyanobacteria gradually emerge from the sediments. How do cyanobacteria, as photosynthetic microorganisms, overcome long periods of darkness exposed to alkaline brines? We plan to collect water, sediment, and microbial mat samples from these alkaline lakes in all four seasons. We will determine environmental factors such as temperature, light, and salinity to investigate if they are inducing factors for cyanobacterial emergence. Additionally, we will create a mesocosm mimicking lake in the lab to simulate the emergence and decay process of mats from sediments. Finally, we will use fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and quantitative PCR (qPCR) techniques to explore the potential survival structures of these cyanobacteria. This study will provide more insights into the biological processes of alkaline soda lakes in high latitude and altitude regions and will support biotechnological applications of cyanobacteria in these areas of the globe.