''Haloferax'' (common abbreviation: ''Hfx.'') is a genus of halobacteria in the order
Haloferacaceae
''Haloferacaceae'' is a family of halophilic, chemoorganotrophic or heterotrophic archaea within the order ''Haloferacales.'' The type genus of this family is ''Haloferax.'' Its biochemical characteristics are the same as the order ''Haloferacale ...
.
Genetic exchange
Cells of ''H. mediterranei'' and cells of the related species ''
H. volcanii'' can undergo a process of genetic exchange between two cells which involves cell fusion resulting in a heterodiploid cell (containing two different chromosomes in one cell).
Although this genetic exchange ordinarily occurs between two cells of the same species, it can also occur at a lower frequency between an ''H. mediterranei'' and an ''H. volcani'' cell. These two species have an average nucleotide sequence identity of 86.6%.
During this exchange process, a diploid cell is formed that contains the full genetic repertoire of both parental cells, and genetic recombination is facilitated. Subsequently, the cells separate, giving rise to recombinant cells.
Taxonomy
As of 2022, 13 species are validly published under the genus ''Haloferax''.
;Proposed species
Several species and novel binomial names have been proposed, but not validly published.
* "''Haloferax antrum''"
Enache et al. 2006,
"''Haloferax opilio''"
Enache et al. 2006, "''Haloferax rutilus''"
Enache et al. 2006 and "''Haloferax viridis''"
Enache et al. 2006 were isolated from
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
n salt lakes and first proposed as new species in 2006.
Only ''
H. prahovense'', that was proposed along them has since been validly published.
* "''Haloferax berberensis''"
Kharroub et al. 2005e was isolated in
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
and proposed as new species in 2005.
* ''Haloferax litoreum'', ''Haloferax marinisediminis'' and ''Haloferax marinum'' were first published in 2021, but are not accepted as of 2022.
* ''Haloferax marisrubri'' and ''Haloferax profundi'' were first published in 2020, but is not accepted as of 2022.
* ''Haloferax massilisiensis'' or ''Haloferax massiliense'' was first published in 2016 and again in 2018 as human associated halophilic archaeon. As of 2022, this species is not accepted.
Phylogeny
The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the
List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature
List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) is an online database that maintains information on the naming and taxonomy of prokaryotes, following the taxonomy requirements and rulings of the International Code of Nomenclatu ...
(LPSN)
and
National Center for Biotechnology Information
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. The NCBI is lo ...
(NCBI).
See also
*
Archaea
Archaea ( ) is a Domain (biology), domain of organisms. Traditionally, Archaea only included its Prokaryote, prokaryotic members, but this has since been found to be paraphyletic, as eukaryotes are known to have evolved from archaea. Even thou ...
*
List of Archaea genera
This article lists the genera of the Archaea. The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). However, in the List provided bel ...
*
Homologous recombination
Homologous recombination is a type of genetic recombination in which genetic information is exchanged between two similar or identical molecules of double-stranded or single-stranded nucleic acids (usually DNA as in Cell (biology), cellular organi ...
*
Extremophile
An extremophile () is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e., environments with conditions approaching or stretching the limits of what known life can adapt to, such as extreme temperature, press ...
References
Further reading
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External links
''Haloferax'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity MetadatabaseNCBI Taxonomy browser
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3126194
Archaea genera
Taxa described in 1986
Halobacteria