novel obligate halo-thermophilic bacterium from Egyptian soils

ABSTRACT

An extreme halophilic thermophilic bacterium was isolated from an Egyptian soil. It is pigmented, pleomorphic, Gram negativer rods. It grows well at an optimum concentration of 25-30% NaCl with a minimum of 15% and a maximum of 35% NaCl. The optimum temperature for growth is 45 degrees. The organism is suggestive of being belonging to the genus Halobacterium, while distinguished from the currently recognized species, since it is an obligate requiring casein and/or casamino acids for growth; it is able to hydrolyase starch; it is unable to grow on the standard medium which support the growth of many isolates of the halobacteriaceae; it is susceptible to nitrofurantoin and it is resistant to all the tested antibiotics. On the basis of its obligacy for casein and/or casamino acids as well as its thermophilic nature. It was suggested to be a novel strain belonging to the genus halobacterium