''Halorubrum'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

in the family

Halorubraceae ''Halorubraceae'' is a family of halophilic, chemoorganotrophic or heterotrophic archaea within the order ''Haloferacales.'' The type genus of this family is ''Halorubrum''. Its biochemical characteristics are the same as the order ''Haloferacales ...

. ''Halorubrum'' species areusually halophilic and can be found in waters with high salt concentration such as the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Ban ...

or Lake Zabuye.

Genetic exchange

A population of the haloarchaea ''Halorubrum'' in its natural high salt concentration environment exchanged genetic information frequently by recombination. This population exhibited a degree of linkage equilibrium approaching that of a sexual population.

Taxonomy

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

, ''Halorubrum'' is a

of the

Halobacteriaceae In taxonomy, the Halobacteriaceae are a family of the Halobacteriales in the domain Archaea.See the NCBIbr>webpage on Halobacteriaceae Data extracted from the ''Halobacteriaceae'' represent a large part of halophilic Archaea, along with mem ...

Species

''Halorubrum ejinorense'' was first isolated from Lake Ejinor in

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. ''Halorubrum lacusprofundi'' was first isolated in the 1980s from Deep Lake,

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

. Its

genome In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ...

sequenced In genetics and biochemistry, sequencing means to determine the primary structure (sometimes incorrectly called the primary sequence) of an unbranched biopolymer. Sequencing results in a symbolic linear depiction known as a sequence which suc ...

in 2008, consists of two

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins ar ...

s (one 2.74 Mb and the other 0.53 Mb) and one plasmid (0.43 Mb). Its

β-galactosidase β-Galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23, lactase, beta-gal or β-gal; systematic name β-D-galactoside galactohydrolase), is a glycoside hydrolase enzyme that catalyzes hydrolysis of terminal non-reducing β-D-galactose residues in β-D-galactosides. β ...

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products ...

has been extensively studied to understand how proteins function in low-temperature, high-saline environments. One strain of ''H. lacusprofundi'' contains a plasmid for

horizontal gene transfer Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) or lateral gene transfer (LGT) is the movement of genetic material between unicellular and/or multicellular organisms other than by the ("vertical") transmission of DNA from parent to offspring (reproduction). H ...

, which takes place via a mechanism that uses vesicle-enclosed virus-like particles. ''Halorubrum sodomense'' was first identified in the

in 1980. It requires a higher concentration of Mg²⁺ ions for growth than related

halophile The halophiles, named after the Greek word for "salt-loving", are extremophiles that thrive in high salt concentrations. While most halophiles are classified into the domain Archaea, there are also bacterial halophiles and some eukaryotic species, ...

s. Its cell surface membrane contains Archaerhodopsin-3 (AR3), a photoreceptor protein which harvests the energy from

sunlight Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when ...

to establish a proton motive force that is used for ATP synthesis. Mutants of AR3 are widely used as tools in

optogenetics Optogenetics is a biological technique to control the activity of neurons or other cell types with light. This is achieved by expression of light-sensitive ion channels, pumps or enzymes specifically in the target cells. On the level of individ ...

for neuroscience research. ''Halorubrum tibetense'' was first isolated from Lake Zabuye in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. ''Halorubrum xinjiangense'' was first isolated from Xiao-Er-Kule Lake in

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...

. ;Proposed species Several species and novel binomial names have been proposed, but not validly published. published. * ''Halorubrum africanae'' and ''Halorubrum constantinense'' were isolated in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

and proposed as new species in 2007 and 2005. * ''Halorubrum alimentarium'' and ''Halorubrum koreense'' are the proposed names for the undescribed strains B43 and B6, appearing in a publication of 2008. * ''Halorubrum halotolerans'' is the proposed name for an undescribed strain isolated from solar salterns in

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

in 2009. * ''Halorubrum hochstenium'' is the proposed name for the full genome of the undescribed strain ATCC 700873, supplied to databases in 2014.Page: "Halorubrum hochstenium 1-13-28" in * ''Halorubrum jeotgali'' was isolated from samples of traditional Korean seafood and proposed as new species in 2007. ''Halorubrum cibarium'' was proposed in the same publication. It was proposed again under the name '' H. cibi'' and accepted in 2009. * ''Halorubrum kribbense'' and ''Halorubrum norisence are proposed names of unisolated strains from the human gut microbiome, referenced in a publication in 2017. * ''Halorubrum salipaludis'' was first published in 2021.Page: "Species: Halorubrum salipaludis" in * ''Halorubrum salsamenti'' was isolated from salt brine and proposed as new species in 2017. * ''Halorubrum sfaxense'' was isolated in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and proposed as new species in 2017. * ''Halorubrum tropicale'' was isolated in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

and proposed as new species in 2016.

References

External links

''Halorubrum'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Archaea genera Taxa described in 1996 {{archaea-stub

Genetic exchange

Taxonomy

Species

References

Further reading

Scientific journals

Scientific books

Scientific databases

External links