Molecular Mechanisms of Adaptation of the Moderately Halophilic Bacterium Halobacillis halophilus to Its Environment

Life

Inga Hänelt¹ 

[1] Department of Molecular Microbiology and Bioenergetics, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; E-Mail

关键词: osmoadaptation;    chloride accumulation;    compatible solutes;    hybrid strategy;   

DOI  :  10.3390/life3010234

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The capability of osmoadaptation is a prerequisite of organisms that live in an environment with changing salinities. Halobacillus halophilus is a moderately halophilic bacterium that grows between 0.4 and 3 M NaCl by accumulating both chloride and compatible solutes as osmolytes. Chloride is absolutely essential for growth and, moreover, was shown to modulate gene expression and activity of enzymes involved in osmoadaptation. The synthesis of different compatible solutes is strictly salinity- and growth phase-dependent. This unique hybrid strategy of H. halophilus will be reviewed here taking into account the recently published genome sequence. Based on identified genes we will speculate about possible scenarios of the synthesis of compatible solutes and the uptake of potassium ion which would complete our knowledge of the fine-tuned osmoregulation and intracellular osmolyte balance in H. halophilus.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.