Haloarchaea

Haloarchaea or haloarchaeota are a class of the Euryarchaeota, found in water saturated or nearly saturated with salt. They are also called halophiles, though this name is also used for other organisms which live in somewhat less concentrated salt water. They are common in salt flats.

Characteristics

Haloarchaea can grow in concentrations of salts that would kill most other organisms. They are so dependent on salt for their survival, that they cannot grow in the absence of salt. They are aerobic, and they breathe oxygen.

Classification

Haloarchaea were originally classified as a group of bacteria. However, their unusual characteristics and genomics have led them to be classified as a separate, third domain of life, the Archaea.

Metabolism

Haloarchaea are capable of photosynthesis. They use a purple pigment for this process, which is similar to the one used by purple bacteria, and different from the green pigment used by plants and cyanobacteria.

Reproduction

Haloarchaea reproduce asexually by binary fission, fragmentation, or budding; unlike bacteria, no species forms spores.

See also

• Halophile
• Archaea
• Euryarchaeota

External links

• Haloarchaea.com

Haloarchaea

• 
  Halobacteria
• 
  San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds