Table 1 A comparison of the properties of
From: Microbial life at high salt concentrations: phylogenetic and metabolic diversity
| Â | Salinibacter | Halobacteriaceae |
Salt requirement | >150 g/l | >150 g/l in most species |
Salt optimum | 150–300 g/l | 200–250 g/l in most species |
G+C % in DNA | 66.2 | 59–71; 46.9 in Haloquadratum walsbyi |
Osmotic solute | KCl | KCl |
Enzymes | Salt-requiring and salt-tolerant | Mostly salt-requiring |
Lipids | Bacterial, including unusual sulfonolipids | Archaeal |
Carotenoid pigments | C-40 substituted carotenoid ('salinixanthin') | C-50 bacterioruberins |
Retinal pigments | Bacteriorhodopsin ('xanthorhodopsin'), halorhodopsin (not yet proven to be functional), sensory rhodopsins | Bacteriorhodopsin, halorhodopsin, sensory rhodopsins (in many but not in all species) |