Open AccessA procedure for the enrichment and isolation of Halobacterium
Author(s) -
Oren Aharon,
Litchfield Carol D
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1999.tb13525.x
Subject(s) - halophile , halobacterium , archaea , biology , isolation (microbiology) , halobacteriaceae , haloarchaea , genus , botany , bacteria , microbiology and biotechnology , halobacterium salinarum , genetics
A procedure for the specific enrichment and isolation of species of the genus Halobacterium was designed, based on the ability of Halobacterium cells to grow anaerobically by fermentation of l ‐arginine. None of the other genera of neutrophilic halophilic Archaea tested grew fermentatively on arginine. Using anaerobic enrichments in the presence of arginine, representatives of the genus Halobacterium were consistently isolated from saltern crystallizer ponds in Eilat (Israel) and San Francisco Bay (California), environments in which Halobacterium represents only a very small fraction of the halophilic archaeal community.