Isolation and biochemical characterization of Halophiles from Sahastradhara region, Dehradun, India

Halophiles are extremophile organisms that thrive in environments with very high concentrations of salt. Halophiles are categorized as slight, moderate or extreme, based on the extent of their halotolerance. Slight halophiles prefer 0.3 to 0.8 M (1.8 to 4.7% seawater is 0.6 M or 3.5%), moderate halophiles 0.8 to 3.4 M (4.7 to 20%), and extreme halophiles 3.4 to 5.1 M (20 to 30%) NaCl. Halophiles can be found in areas where the concentration of salt is five times greater than salt concentration of the ocean, such as the Great Salt Lake in Utah, Owens Lake in California, the Dead Sea, and in evaporation ponds. (Roohiet al.,2012). They include mainly prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms with the capacity to balance the osmotic pressure of the environment and resist the denaturing effects of salts. Among halophilic microorganisms are a variety of heterotrophic and methanogenicarchaea; photosynthetic, lithotrophic, and heterotrophic bacteria; and photosynthetic and heterotrophic eukaryotes. Halophilic microorganisms have several biotechnological applications like -carotene production of fermented foods. In recent years, uses of halophilic microorganisms have significantly increased. Many enzymes, stabilizers and valuable compounds from ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 3 Number 12 (2014) pp. 753-760 http://www.ijcmas.com