Haloarcula marismortui is a halophilic archaeon isolated from the Dead Sea.
Haloarcula marismortui is a Gram-negative archaeon with a cell size of 1.0–2.x 2.0–3.0 μm (diameter x length). Cells are pleomorphic appearing as short rods to rectangles. H. marismortui is motile via archaellum and possesses a cell membrane that consists of triglycosyl, diether lipids, and glycoproteins.
H. marismortui is an aerobic chemoorganotroph that utilizes glycolysis and a modified Entner-Doudaroff pathway for the breakdown of nutrients. H. marismortui utilizes energy sources such as glucose, sucrose, fructose, glycerol, malate, acetate & succinate while producing nitrogen, metabolic carbon, and acid as byproducts. Can also grow anaerobically by using nitrate as an electron acceptor.
The genome of H. marismortui is organized into nine circular replicons, in which individual G+C content varies from 54 to 62%.[1] H. marismortui contains 4,366 genes and 4,274,642 base pairs (Strain ATCC 43049).[2]
H. marismortui has one of the only two prokaryotic large ribosomal subunits which have so far been crystallized. The other one is Deinococcus radiodurans.
Haloarcula marismortui is considered an extreme halophile and has been isolated from the Dead Sea. H. marismortui has a temperature optima between 40 and 50 °C and a pH range of 5.5–8.0. Growth can occur at a wide range of NaCl concentrations spanning 5-35% with optimal growth between 15 and 25%. The unusually large number of environmental regulatory genes found within the H. marismortui genome suggests higher fitness in extreme environments compared to other species of Halobacterium.
High environmental adaptability makes H. marismortui an ideal candidate for future bioremediation research with the potential of utilizing its environmental sensory genes in environmental clean up.