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In this study a combination of both molecular and biochemical methods have been used to characterize the bacterial microbiota in water and sediment of a saline lake in Transylvania. The physicochemical characterization of the water samples from different lake depths indicated a stratification of the lake that affects the distribution of resident microorganisms, confirmed also by the significant differences in terms of functional diversity of the microbial communities in different water layers. The superficial bacterial community shows a good oxidative capability, degrading a wide range of organic substrates, yet the bottom layer community exhibits a major level of specialization. The membrane fatty acid analysis of the sediment bacterial community shows the prevalent presence of Gram negative bacteria, confirmed by the culturing techniques. Among the 24 collected isolates, 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis permitted to identify 10 different species, belonging toBacillus,Halomonas,Idiomarina, Marinobacter, Pseudoalteromonas, Salinivibrio, Staphylococcusgenera and prevalently classified as halophiles. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]