Summary
Concentrated salt solutions (brines) occur widely in the natural form of coastal lagoons, salt or soda lakes as well as in the man-made form of salterns or saltworks. They are inhabited by a limited number of specialized microorganisms, which use different strategies of haloadaptation. Extremely halophilic archaebacteria (Halobacteriaceae) compensate the high osmotic pressure of brines by high cytoplasmic K+ion concentrations. This requires appropriate adaptations of both the intracellular and extracellular functional macromolecules. Only some of the halophilic, halotolerant and extremely halophilic eubacteria follow this strategy; while the majority of them, and the halophilic algae, synthesize and accumulate in their cells organic compatible solutes (mono-, disaccharides, glycosylglycerols, sugar alcohols, amino acids, betaines). These compounds have besides their water-binding activity, protective functions for enzymes. In eubacteria the most important compatible solute is glycine betaine. Besides this substance, further new substances have been found, such as ectoine, for which functions as well as biosynthetic pathways have yet to be elucidated.
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Trüper, H.G., Galinski, E.A. Concentrated brines as habitats for microorganisms. Experientia 42, 1182–1187 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01946388
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01946388