Halophilic anaerobic fermentative bacteria

In hypersaline environments bacteria are exposed to a high osmotic pressure caused by the surrounding high salt concentrations. Halophilic microorganisms have specific strategies for balancing the osmotic pressure and surviving in these extreme conditions. Halophilic fermentative bacteria form taxonomically and phylogenetically a coherent group mainly belonging to the order Halanaerobiales. In this review, halophilic anaerobic fermentative bacteria in terms of taxonomy and phylogeny, special characteristics, survival strategies, and potential for biotechnological applications in a wide variety of branches, such as production of hydrogen, are discussed. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.