Halophiles

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 1270

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Halophiles are microorganisms that have adapted to living in hypersaline environments and other saline products. Most of them belong to the domains of bacteria and archaea, and they are of great importance based on both their adaptation mechanisms to extreme conditions and their potential biotechnological applications. In recent years, the isolation and taxonomic characterization of halophiles have allowed us to learn more about their heterogeneity, their metabolic and physiological diversity, and their ecological distribution and biodiversity. Culture-independent techniques, such as metagenomics and -omics studies, represent key future approaches to the study of halophiles, as there are still many areas to explore within this field.

For this Special Issue of Microorganisms, we invite the submission of potential contributions (original articles and reviews) concerning the biology, taxonomy, biodiversity, and biotechnological applications of halophilic microorganisms, as well as the use of genomic and metagenomic approaches to study microbial communities. We especially welcome new information that will improve our understanding of the role of halophilic microorganisms in hypersaline environments, their adaptation to environmental conditions, their genetic and functional diversity, and their phylogenetic position.

Prof. Dr. Cristina Sánchez-Porro
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • obligate halophiles
  • bacteria
  • archaea
  • taxonomy and biodiversity
  • biotechnology
  • genomics
  • metagenomics
  • physiology and metabolism
  • hypersaline habitats

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

26 pages, 4050 KB  
Article
Uncovering the Prokaryotic Diversity of Hypersaline Soils of Odiel Saltmarshes Natural Area Through Metagenome-Assembled Genomes
by Cristina Galisteo, Fernando Puente-Sánchez, Rafael R. de la Haba, Stefan Bertilsson, Antonio Ventosa and Cristina Sánchez-Porro
Microorganisms 2026, 14(2), 489; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14020489 - 18 Feb 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 889
Abstract
The hypersaline soils of the Odiel Saltmarshes Natural Area in Southwest Spain harbor highly diverse microbial communities adapted to extreme conditions. However, their genomic diversity remains largely unexplored. In addition to high salinity, these soils are contaminated with heavy metals, creating a hostile [...] Read more.
The hypersaline soils of the Odiel Saltmarshes Natural Area in Southwest Spain harbor highly diverse microbial communities adapted to extreme conditions. However, their genomic diversity remains largely unexplored. In addition to high salinity, these soils are contaminated with heavy metals, creating a hostile environment of great interest for studying extremophilic microorganisms and their metabolic adaptations. This study aims to characterize the uncovered prokaryotic taxa as Candidatus species inhabiting the hypersaline soils of the Odiel Saltmarshes, based on their metagenomic assembled genomic sequences. The reconstructed genomes were assessed for quality based on completeness and contamination thresholds and subsequently taxonomically classified. Comparative genomic analysis of six high-quality MAGs revealed key metabolic traits related to survival under extreme salinity and heavy metal conditions. The findings provide new insights about microbial diversity of hypersaline environments and expand the catalog of known prokaryotic genomes. Detailed characterization of six novel Candidatus taxa highlights the unique adaptations of these microorganisms, enhancing our understanding of life in extreme habitats. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Halophiles)
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