Tectonic splitting of the Arabian and African plates originated the Red Sea together
with one of the most unique, remote, and extreme environments on Earth: deep-sea
anoxic brine lakes. They combine multiple extremes namely increased salinity (7-fold),
temperature (up to 70°C), concentration of heavy metals (1,000- to 10,000-fold), and
hydrostatic pressure [1].
Despite such harsh conditions, they harbor an unexpectedly high biodiversity and are
teeming with life. Increased interest in their microbiology led to multiple recent and
ongoing studies. Highlights of this research include: the isolation, physiological characterization
and genome sequencing of unusual new extremophilic microbes; the identification
of several novel phylogenetic lineages; and ongoing cultivation- and molecularbased
assessment of microbial community variation between and within different brines
[2-7].
The uniqueness of these environments offers a high potential for discovery of new microbes,
strategies and biomolecules to cope with extreme conditions, and biotechnological
applications
