DNA as genetic material and as a nutrient in halophilic Archaea.

Aharon Oren

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2014.00539

Abstract

DNA as genetic material and as a nutrient in halophilic Archaea.

Highlights

Edited by: Jesse Dillon, California State University, Long Beach, USA Reviewed by: Juergen Wiegel, University of Georgia, USA
A wellknown example is the Dead Sea, where the possibility of massive development of microbial blooms is determined by the excessively high concentrations of magnesium and calcium and phosphate is the limiting inorganic nutrient, for the alga Dunaliella and for the halophilic Archaea in blooms that occasionally develop in the lake when conditions become favorable (Oren, 1983)
Many halophilic Archaea have discovered the advantage of DNA as a phosphorus storage polymer: they are commonly polyploid: some species may contain up to 30 genome copies (Breuert et al, 2006; Soppa, 2013; Zerulla and Soppa, 2014)

Summary

Introduction

Edited by: Jesse Dillon, California State University, Long Beach, USA Reviewed by: Juergen Wiegel, University of Georgia, USA. A commentary on Extracellular DNA metabolism in Haloferax volcanii by Chimileski, S., Dolas, K., Naor, A., Gophna, U., and Papke, R. Phosphorus is a key element for life, and in many ecosystems phosphate is the limiting nutrient. It is not surprising that members of the Halobacteriaceae have developed mechanisms to use phosphate ions but other phosphorus sources as well.

Results

Conclusion