Brock Biology of Microorganisms Plus MasteringMicrobiology with eText -- Access Card Package (14th Edition)
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Chapter 16, Problem 1RQ
Summary Introduction

The genus of Halobacterium consists of several species of Archaea with an aerobic metabolism. It is often called as “haloarchaea” are a diverse group that inhabits an environment with a high concentration of salt. These includes naturally salty environments such as salt lakes, solar salt evaporation ponds and artificial saline habitats such as the surface of heavily salted foods.

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Halobacterium is an extreme halophilic Archaea that live in high salt environments. This extremely halophilic Archaea need large amounts of NaCl for the growth. However, the cells of Halobacterium require both potassium and NaCl for growth because both play an essential role in maintaining osmotic balance. This organism must either synthesis or accumulate solutes intracellularly and these solutes are called as compatible solutes. These compatible solutes help the cell to maintain a positive water balance with their surroundings. Halobacterium synthesis or import compatible solutes to prevent the plasmolysis.

Halobacterium neither synthesis nor accumulate organic compounds, but it pump large quantities of potassium K+ from the environment into their cytoplasm. The cell maintains a positive water balance by maintaining a higher concentration of potassium inside the cell than concentration of Na+ outside the cell.

Escherichia coli is a gram negative, rod shaped, and facultative anaerobic bacterium. Escherichia coli has gram-negative cell wall that provides structural integrity to the cell. Cell wall also protects the cell from the internal turgor pressure that caused due to much higher concentration of proteins and other molecules present inside the cell in comparison to external surroundings. The cellular components and proteins of E.coli are not structurally adapted for survival in high salt environments and it cannot accumulate or synthesis compatible solutes.

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