This book intends to provide an overview of current research on halophilic microorganisms, highlighting the diversity of life forms adapted to tolerate high salt concentrations and low water activities. Most of the 35 chapters are based on lectures presented during the international symposium "Halophiles 2004", held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in September 2004. Descriptions of the diverse high-salt environments in which halophiles are found are followed by sections devoted to the properties of halophilic Archaea, of halophilic and halotolerant Bacteria, and of different groups of salt-loving Eukarya, including fungi, algae and protozoa. Extensive information is provided about fungi adapted to life at high salt concentrations, a group that was poorly known until very recently. This volume is intended for researchers and students interested in a wide range of disciplines in the life sciences: from microbial ecology and adaptation of microorganisms to life in extreme environments to genomics, biotechnology, and astrobiology.
Table of contents
Foreword; J. Seckbach
Introduction; N. Gunde-Cimerman, A. Oren, A. Plemenita?
SECTION I. THE ENVIRONMENTS AND THEIR DIVERSITY
Microbial diversity of Great Salt Lake; B.K. Baxter, C.D. Litchfield, K. Sowers, J.D. Griffith, P.A. DasSarma; S. DasSarma
Microbial communitites in the Dead Sea – past, present and future; A. Oren, I. Gavrieli, J. Gavrieli, M. Kohen, J. Lati, M. Aharoni
Microscopic examination of microbial communitires along a salinity gradient in saltern evaporation poonds: a ‘halophilic safari’; A. Oren
The microbial diversity of a solar saltern on San Francisco Bay; C.D. Litchfield, M. Sikaroodi, P.M. Gillivet
Diversity of microbial communities: the case of solar salterns; C. Pedrós-Alió
Isolation of viable haloarchaea from ancient salt deposits and application of fluorescent stains for in situ detection of halophiles in hypersaline environmental samples and model fluid inclusions; S. Leuko, A. Legat, S. Fendrihan, H. Wieland, C. Radax, C. Gruber, M. Pfaffenhuemer, G. Weidler, H. Stan-Lotter
Hydrocarbon degredation under hypersaline conditions. Some facts, some experiments and many open questions; H. Patzelt
The relevance of halophiles and other extremophiles to Martian and extraterrestrial environments; J. Seckbach
Halophiles: a terrestrial analog for life in brines on Mars – Halophiles on Mars; R.L. Mancinelli
SECTION II. ARCHAEA
Comparative genomic survey of information transfer systems in two diverse extremely halophilic Archaea, Halobacterium sp. strain NRC-1 and Haloarcula marismortui; B.R. Berquist, J. Soneja, S. DasSarma
Walsby's square archaeon; it's hip to be square but even more hip to be culturable; H. Bolhuis
Gene regulation and the initiation of translation in halophilic Archaea; F. Pfeifer, P. Zimmermann, S. Scheuch, S. Sartorius-Neef
Protein translation, targeting and translocation in Haloferax volcanii; J. Eichler, G. Ring, V. Irihimovitch, T. Lichi, I. Tozik, Z. Konrad
Enzymes of halophilic Archaea. Recent findings on ureases and nucleoside diphosphate kinases; T. Mizuki, R. Usami, M. Kamo, M. Tanokura, M. Kamekura
Osmoadaptation in methanogenci Archaea: recent insights from a genomic perspective; K. Pflüger, H. Wieland, V. Müller
SECTION III. BACTERIA
Salinibacter ruber: genomics and biogeography; J. Antón, A. Peña, M. Valens, F. Santos, F.-O. Glöckner, M. Bauer, J. Dopazo, J. Herrero, R. Rosselló-Mora, R. Amann
What we can deduce about metabolism in the moderate halophile Chromohalobacter salexigens from its genomic sequence; L.N. Csonka, K. O'Connor, F. Larimer, P. Richardson, A. Lapidus, A.D. Ewing, B.W. Goodner, A. Oren
K+ transport and its role for osmoregulation in a halophilic memberof the Bacteria domain: characterization of the K+ uptake systems from Halomonas elongate; H.-J. Kunte
The chloride regulon of Halobacillus halophilus: a novel regulatory network for salt perception and signal transduction in bacteria; V. Müller, S.H. Saum
Biosynthesis of the compatible solute mannosylglycerate from hyperthermophiles to mesophiles. Genes, enzymes and evolutionary perspectives; M.S. da Costa, N. Empadinhas
Genes and enzymes of ectoine biosynthesis in the haloalkaliphilic obligate methanotroph "Methylomicrobium alcaliphilum 20Z"; A.S. Reshetnikov, V.N. Khmelenina, I.I. Mustakhimov, Y.V. Ryzhmanova, Y.A. Trotsenko
Halophilic Archaea and Bacteria as a source of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes; A. Ventosa, C. Sánchez-Porro, S. Martín, E. Mellado
Biopolyester production: halophilic microorganisms as an attractive source; J. Quillaguamán, B. Mattiasson, R. Hatti-Kaul
SECTION IV. FUNGI
Relation of halotolerance to human pathogenicity in the fungal tree of life: an overview of ecology and evolution under stress; G. Sybren de Hoog, P. Zalar, B. Gerrits van den Ende, N. Gunde-Cimerman
Halotolerant and halophilic fungi from coastal environments in the Arctics; N. Gunde-Cimerman, L. Butinar, S. Sonjak, M. Turk, V. Ur?ic, , P. Zalar, A. Plemenita?
Halotolerant and halophilic fungi and their extrolite production; J.C. Frisvad
Introducing Debaryomyces hansenii, a salt-loving yeast; J. Ramos
Cellular responses in the halophilic black yeast Hortaea werneckii to high environmental salinity; A. Plemenita?, N. Gunde-Cimerman
Halotolerance and lichen symbioses; M. Grube, J. Blaha
SECTION V. ALGAE
A century of Dunaliella research: 1905-2005; A. Oren
Molecular determinants of protein halotolerance: structural and functional studies of the extremely salt tolerant carbonic anhydrases from Dunaliella salina; L. Premkumar, M. Volkovitsky, I. Gokhman, J.L. Sussman, A. Zamir
SECTION VI. PROTOZOA
Hetrotrophic protozoa from hypersaline environments; G. Hauer, A. Rogerson
Heterotrophic flagellates in hypersaline waters; B.C. Cho
SECTION VII. VIRUSES
Haloviruses and their hosts; M.L. Dyall-Smith, D.G. Burns, H.M. Camakaris, P.H. Janssen, B.E. Russ, K. Porter
Subject Index
Organism Index
Author Index