Abstract
The taxonomic structure of soil microbial community was studied in six samples taken from a salt marsh along the salinity gradient and in two samples of non-saline soils using pyrosequencing method (454 Roche). The analysis allowed to identify three main ecological groups of microorganisms depending on the degree of the soil salinity. Halophylic microorganisms were mainly represented by bacteria of three phyla Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes and included much less of archaea (the Halobacteriaceae family). Within the distance of 150–200 m from the point with the highest levels of salinity, the microbial community tends to have a considerable similarity with control samples of non-saline soils.