A procedure for the enrichment and isolation of Halobacterium

A procedure for the specific enrichment and isolation of species of the gen us Halobacterium was designed, based on the ability of Halobacterium cells to grow anaerobically by fermentation of L-arginine. None of the other gene ra of neutrophilic halophilic Archaea tested grew fermentatively on arginin e. Using anaerobic enrichments in the presence of arginine, representatives of the genus Halobacterium were consistently isolated from saltern crystal lizer ponds in Eilat (Israel) and San Francisco Bay (California), environme nts in which Halobacterium represents only a very small fraction of the hal ophilic archaeal community. (C) 1999 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.