A review on enzymatic response of bacteria to salt stress and genomic/metagenomic analysis of adaptation protein in hypersaline environment

Abstract

Halophilic bacteria adapted to high salinity (low water activity) provide insight into how they naturally maintain efficient cell integrity under high osmotic stress. Almost all microbes adapt to extreme situations either by intracellular amass inorganic ions (K+) to counterbalance high salt concentration or by synthesizing and accumulating certain organic solutes called compatible solutes that confer protection without affecting cell functions. The use of a culture-independent method like genomic or metagenomics shields more light on the microbial diversity, gene structure and regulation, and discovery of novel genes that led to understanding their adaptation mechanism and roles in extreme environments. Therefore, microbes that survive this natural attenuation aimed at acclimatizing with the extreme environments could serve as the sources of biotechnologically essential molecules with an extensive array of uses. This review provides an overview of adaptation strategy of bacteria in hypersaline environments revealed by genomic and metagenomic studies.