Ilham Misbakudin Al Zamzami, Defri Yona, Abd Rahem Faqih, Andi Kurniawan
Hypersaline environments support microbial communities with remarkable adaptations to osmotic stress, yet the ecological organization of biofilm-associated microbiomes in these habitats remains poorly understood. This study presents the first amplicon-based 16S rRNA characterization of a laboratory-grown halophilic biofilm derived from Indonesian salt ponds. Biofilm biomass from salinity stages of approximately 2%, 20%, and 40% NaCl was pooled prior to DNA extraction to ensure sufficient yield; therefore, the present study provides a descriptive community inventory rather than comparisons among salinities or biofilm baseline inventory. High-throughput sequencing identified 196 OTUs (Good’s coverage = 0.9997) with moderate-to-high richness across alpha-diversity indices. The community was dominated by bacterial genera including Oceanicaulis, Bacillus, Halomonas, and Limimaricola, alongside archaeal taxa such as Haloferax and Halohasta. These taxa are discussed in relation to ecological functions reported in prior hypersaline biofilm studies; however, spatial stratification cannot be inferred from a composite sample. Overall, this work provides baseline taxonomic data for Indonesian salt-pond-derived halophilic biofilms and motivates future spatially resolved and functional validation. ©2025 The authors.
Doctoral Program of Fisheries Science and Marine, Faculty of Marine Science and Fisheries, University of Brawijaya, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Department of Fishery and Marine Resources Utilization, Faculty of Marine Science and Fisheries, University of Brawijaya, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources Management, Faculty of Marine Science and Fisheries, University of Brawijaya, Malang, 65145, Indonesia
