halophile
/ˈhalə(ʊ)fʌɪl
/ /ˈheɪlə(ʊ)fʌɪl/noun Ecology
An organism, especially a microorganism, that grows in or can tolerate saline conditions.The secret to growing the slow-growing halophiles is to keep the nutrient concentration low enough to curb the growth of competing organisms....
- The population of viable halophiles is hypothesized to decrease as resources are depleted over time.
- Studying extremophiles such as halophiles on Earth may provide insights helpful in our search for life elsewhere in the universe.
Derivatives
halophilic
/ /heɪlə(ʊ)ˈfɪlɪk / adjective ...- Only the evolutionarily ancient halophilic Archaea, restricted to marginal habitats such as brine ponds, appear to rely extensively on inorganic osmolytes at high concentrations.
- The halophilic diatom C. elkab comprises at least 10% of the fossil flora throughout OD2, and increases toward the OD2 - OD3 boundary in sediments deposited during lake-level decline in the 1930s and early 1940s.
- Photoactive yellow protein is a water-soluble photoreceptor protein responsible for the negative bluelight-induced phototaxis of the halophilic phototropic bacterium, Halorhodospira halophila.