The HaloEd Project

A web site dedicated to biotechnology education

Ecology

Halobacteria exist in a unique niche: at extremely high salt concentrations all over the world. They can be found in hypersaline environments such as solar salt production facilities, in brine inclusions in salt crystals in salt mines, in natural lakes and ponds (e.g. Great Salt Lake), and in salt marshes. Here the salt concentrations are between 3-5M (nearly saturated) NaCl solutions, (at salt levels 9-10 times higher than that found in the oceans).

Halophilic blooms come in many beautiful colors:

Fig. 1. Halobacterial blooms (different colors represent blooms of different Halophiles at different salinities) at Inland salt field at in northern . The lake is located about 10km from a small township known as Sea Lake. Salt is in underground deposits, winter rains dissolve the salt and very high evaporation rates over the summer cause the formation of salt. The islands are natural but the pond walls have been constructed. Salt quality is roughly the same as for seawater salt however the potassium levels are lower. Image provided by Cheetham Salt Ltd, Australia.

Fig. 2. Halophilic blooms at Great Salt Lake. Reddish-orange bands are visible in one of the largest natural hypersaline environments in the world. The salinity of the North Arm is nearly saturated NaCl. Photo courtesy of S. DasSarma.

Fig. 3. Salt marsh in Maryland coast Photo courtesy of J. Mueller.

Fig. 4. Halobacteria in brine inclusions in a salt crystal.