Examinination of microbial diversity in environments of increasing salt concentrations indicates that certain types of dissimilatory metabolism do not occur at the highest salinities. Examples are methanogenesis for H2 + CO2 or from acetate, dissimilatory sulfate reduction with oxidation of acetate, and autotrophic nitrification. Occurrence of the different metabolic types is correlated with the free-energy change associated with the dissimilatory reactions. Life at high salt concentrations is energetically expensive. Most bacteria and also the methanogenic archaea produce high intracellular concentrations of organic osmotic solutes at a high energetic cost. All halophilic microorganisms expend large amounts of energy to maintain steep gradients of NA+ and K+ concentrations across their cytoplasmic membrane. The energetic cost of salt adaptation probably dictates what types of metabolism can support life at the highest salt concentrations. Use of KCl as an intracellular solute, while requiring far-reaching adaptations of the intracellular machinery, is energetically more favorable than production of organic-compatible solutes. This may explain why the anaerobic halophilic fermentative bacteria (order Haloanaerobiales) use this strategy and also why halophilic homoacetogenic bacteria that produce acetate from H2 + CO2 exist whereas methanogens that use the same substrates in a reaction with a similar free-energy yield do not.

Bioenergetic Aspects of Halophilism

The phylogenetic diversity of microorganisms living at high salt concentrations is surprising. Halophiles are found in each of the three domains: Archaea, Bacteria, and Eucarya. The metabolic diversity of halophiles is great as well: they include oxygenic and anoxygenic phototrophs, aerobic heterotrophs, fermenters, denitrifiers, sulfate reducers, and methanogens. The diversity of metabolic types encountered decreases with salinity. The upper salinity limit at which each dissimilatory process takes place is correlated with the amount of energy generated and the energetic cost of osmotic adaptation. Our understanding of the biodiversity in salt-saturated environments has increased greatly in recent years. Using a combination of culture techniques, molecular biological methods, and chemotaxonomic studies, we have obtained information on the nature of the halophilic Archaea as well as the halophilic Bacteria that inhabit saltern crystallizer ponds. Several halophilic microorganisms are being exploited in biotechnology. In some cases, such as the production of ectoine, the product is directly related to the halophilic behavior of the producing microorganism. In other cases, such as the extraction of β-carotene from Dunaliella or the potential use of Haloferax species for the production of poly-β-hydroxyalkanoate or extracellular polysaccharides, similar products can be obtained from non-halophiles, but halophilic microorganisms may present advantages over the use of non-halophilic counterparts. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2002) 28, 56–63 DOI: 10.1038/sj/jim/7000176

Diversity of halophilic microorganisms: environments, phylogeny, physiology, and applications.

Although the importance of bacterial activities in oil reservoirs was recognized a long time ago, our knowledge of the nature and diversity of bacteria growing in these ecosystems is still poor, and their metabolic activities in situ largely ignored. This paper reviews our current knowledge about these bacteria and emphasises the importance of the petrochemical and geochemical characteristics in understanding their presence in such environments.

Microbiology of petroleum reservoirs.

Life at High Salt Concentrations

The phylogenetic diversity of the bacterial and archaeal community in the water and sediments of three large lakes of the Wadi An Natrun was investigated using 16S rRNA clone libraries. The bacterial community was diverse: 769 clones formed 345 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) defined at 99% 16S rRNA sequence identity. The bacterial community in both the water and sediments of the lakes was dominated by clones affiliated with the low G + C Gram-type-positive group, α-proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, (11–39, 11–30, and 10–37% of OTUs observed, respectively), patterns that have been observed in previously described alkaline, athalassohaline systems. However, a relatively high proportion of Firmicutess-related clones in the water of the lakes and α-proteobacteria in the sediments was observed. The bacterial community composition of the water and sediment of the same lake and of different lakes was significantly different (p < 0.05). Operational taxonomic units related to the γ-proteobacteria were more abundant in the sediment of Lake Fazda, whereas the sediment of Lake UmRisha was dominated by members of the δ-proteobacteria. The proportion of γ-proteobacterial and Bacteroidetes-affiliated OTUs were predominant in the water of Lake UmRisha and differed significantly from other lake waters (chi-squared analysis, p ≤ 0.01). The more oxygenated and dilute nature of Lake Hamra was reflected in its microbial community composition, with the abundance of Bacillales sequences in the water, the absence of Halanaerobiales, Clostridiales, and Archaea in the water, and the presence of representatives of more phyla such as the Actinobacteria, Spirochaetes, and Verrucomicrobia. The archaeal community composition appeared less diverse: 589 clones resulted in 198 OTUs defined at 99% 16S rRNA sequence identity, and all sequences fell into the phylum Euryarchaeota. Phylogenetic analysis showed that many of the sequences were distantly related (83–90% 16S rRNA sequence identity) to cultured and uncultured archaea, with many clones forming clusters that branched deeply within the Euryarchaeota. Forty-two and 53% of the bacterial and archaeal clones had less than 90% 16S rRNA sequence identity to previously described sequences. This indicates that the water and sediments of the Wadi An Natrun harbor a unique and novel prokaryotic diversity that is different from what has been described among other alkaline, athalassohaline lakes.

Novel and Unexpected Prokaryotic Diversity in Water and Sediments of the Alkaline, Hypersaline Lakes of the Wadi An Natrun, Egypt

The taxonomic status of the fermentative halophilic anaerobic bacteria: description of Haloanaerobiales ord. nov., Halobacteroidaceae fam. nov., Orenia gen. nov. and further taxonomic rearrangements at the genus and species level.

As outlined in preceding chapters of this book, acetogenic bacteria have a specialized physiological potential for the conservation of energy via the reduction of CO2 to acetate. They also harbor diverse catabolic processes and are found in unusual habitats. Although their role in nature was initially viewed somewhat restrictively, it is now evident that they might have a large impact on carbon and energy flow in some environments, in particular that of certain gastrointestinal ecosystems (Breznak et al., 1988; Kane and Breznak, 1991a, 1991b). However, specialized (or extreme) terrestrial environments are largely unexplored relative to the involvement of acetogenesis and associated organisms.

George A. Zavarzin

Papers

The taxonomic status of the fermentative halophilic anaerobic bacteria: description of Haloanaerobiales ord. nov., Halobacteroidaceae fam. nov., Orenia gen. nov. and further taxonomic rearrangements at the genus and species level.

Halophilic Acetogenic Bacteria

Desulfonatronovibrio Zhilina, Zavarzin and Rainey in Zhilina, Zavarzin, Rainey, Pikuta, Osipov and Kostrikina 1997, 149 VP