Bacterial dissimilatory MnO(2) reduction at extremely haloalkaline conditions.

A possibility of dissimilatory MnO(2) reduction at extremely high salt and pH was studied in sediments from hypersaline alkaline lakes in Kulunda Steppe (Altai, Russia). Experiments with anaerobic sediment slurries demonstrated a relatively rapid reduction of colloidal MnO(2) in the presence of acetate and formate as electron donor at in situ conditions (i.e.