The family haloplasmataceae

Abstract

Haloplasmataceae is a family within the order Haloplasmatales, which currently includes one single genus and species: Haloplasma contractile. This family has unusual phenotypic features -the most noticeable being a unique morphology and cellular contractility cycle- and a distinct phylogenetic position between the Firmicutes and the Tenericutes (Mollicutes). Members of the Haloplasmataceae have been isolated from the upper sediments of a deep-sea anoxic brine in the Red Sea, but cultivation-independent studies have found related sequences in a wide range of biotopes including other extreme environments, contaminated soils and marine sediments, as well as intestinal samples. The isolation and description of new representatives of this family might therefore result in significant changes to the current description.