''Halomonas'' is a genus of
halophilic
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, ...
(salt-tolerating)
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
. It grows over the range of 5 to 25%
NaCl
Sodium chloride , commonly known as salt (although sea salt also contains other chemical salts), is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. With molar masses of 22.99 and 35.45 g ...
.
The type species of this genus is ''
Halomonas elongata''.
Description
Members of ''Halomonas'' are
Gram-negative
Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wall ...
,
rod-shaped
A bacillus (), also called a bacilliform bacterium or often just a rod (when the context makes the sense clear), is a rod-shaped bacterium or archaeon. Bacilli are found in many different taxonomic groups of bacteria. However, the name ''Bacillu ...
bacteria, generally 0.6-0.8
μm by 1.6-1.9 μm.
They move by using
flagella
A flagellum (; ) is a hairlike appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many protists with flagella are termed as flagellates.
A microorganism may have f ...
. They grow in the presence of oxygen, although some have been reported to be able to grow without oxygen. When grown on an
agar plate
An agar plate is a Petri dish that contains a growth medium solidified with agar, used to culture microorganisms. Sometimes selective compounds are added to influence growth, such as antibiotics.
Individual microorganisms placed on the plate wil ...
, they form white/yellow colonies that turn light brown over time.
[
]
Ecology
''Halomonas'' species have been found in a broad variety of saline environments, including estuaries, the ocean, and saline lakes.[
]
Species
Many species of ''Halomonas'' have been described:
'' H. alimentaria''
'' H. alkaliantarctica''
'' H. alkaliphila''
'' H. almeriensis''
'' H. andesensis''
'' H. anticariensis''
'' H. aquamarina''
'' H. arcis''
'' H. axialensis''
'' H. beimenensis''
'' H. boliviensis''
'' H. campaniensis''
'' H. campisalis''
'' H. caseinilytica''
'' H. cerina''
'' H. cibimaris''
'' H. cupida''
'' H. daqiaonensis''
'' H. daqingensis''
'' H. denitrificans''
'' H. desiderata''
'' H. elongata''
'' H. eurihalina''
'' H. flava''
'' H. fontilapidosi''
'' H. garicola''
'' H. gomseomensis''
'' H. gudaonensis''
'' H. halmophila''
'' H. halocynthiae''
'' H. halodenitrificans''
'' H. halophila''
'' H. hamiltonii''
'' H. heilongjiangensis''
'' H. huangheensis''
'' H. hydrothermalis''
'' H. ilicicola''
'' H. janggokensis''
'' H. jeotgali''
'' H. johnsoniae''
'' H. kenyensis''
'' H. koreensis''
'' H. korlensis''
'' H. kribbensis''
'' H. lutea''
'' H. lutescence''
'' H. magadiensis''
'' H. maura''
'' H. meridiana''
'' H. mongoliensis''
'' H. muralis''
'' H. nanhaiensis''
'' H. neptunia''
'' H. nitroreducens''
'' H. olivaria''
'' H. organivorans''
'' H. pacifica''
'' H. pantelleriensis''
'' H. qiaohouensis''
'' H. qijiaojingensis''
'' H. ramblicola''
'' H. rifensis''
'' H. sabkhae''
'' H. saccharevitans''
'' H. salicampi''
'' H. salifodinae''
'' H. salina''
'' H. sediminicola''
'' H. shengliensis''
'' H. sinaiensis''
'' H. smyrnensis''
'' H. songnenensis''
'' H. stenophila''
'' H. stevensii''
'' H. subglaciescola''
'' H. subterranea''
'' H. sulfidaeris''
'' H. taeanensis''
'' H. titanicae''
'' H. urumqiensis''
'' H. variabilis''
'' H. ventosae''
'' H. venusta''
'' H. vilamensis''
'' H. xianhensis''
'' H. xinjiangensis''
'' H. zhangjiangensis''
'' H. zincidurans''
Pathogenic potential
Certain species of ''Halomonas ''may display pathogen
In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...
ic potential in humans. In one study, three species were isolated from two patients suffering bacteremia
Bloodstream infections (BSIs), which include bacteremias when the infections are bacterial and fungemias when the infections are fungal, are infections present in the blood. Blood is normally a sterile environment, so the detection of microb ...
in a dialysis center. The study hypothesized that the bicarbonate
In inorganic chemistry, bicarbonate (IUPAC-recommended nomenclature: hydrogencarbonate) is an intermediate form in the deprotonation of carbonic acid. It is a polyatomic anion with the chemical formula .
Bicarbonate serves a crucial biochemic ...
used in the dialysis fluid may have been contaminated by the bacteria.
Etymology
The name ''Halomonas'' derives from: Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
noun ''hals, halos'' (ἅλς, ἁλός), salt; and ''monas'' (μονάς), nominally meaning "a unit", but in effect meaning a bacterium; thus, salt (-tolerant) monad.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q390336
Oceanospirillales
Psychrophiles
Bacteria genera