Intro -- Contents -- Contributors -- Preface -- 1: Ecology and Evolution of Haloquadratum walsbyi Through the Lens of Genomics and Metagenomics -- Introduction -- The ecology of solar saltern crystallizer -- Haloquadratum walsbyi: the uncultivable species -- Unveiling the extent of intragenomic diversity in Haloquadratum walsbyi -- Metagenomic islands -- Interactions between Haloquadratum walsbyi and other species in the crystallizer pond -- The metagenomic insight into predator-prey interplay in aquatic environments -- The 'Constant diversity' dynamics model -- Conclusion -- 2: Salinibacter ruber: The Never Ending Microdiversity? -- Introduction -- Abundance and distribution revisited -- Microdiversity and recombination -- Inter-domain (Archaea-Bacteria) lateral gene transfer: archaeal genes in Salinibacter ruber genomes -- The power of metabolomics to explore phenotypic microdiversity -- Future trends -- 3: Horizontal Gene Transfer in Halobacteria -- Introduction -- Mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer -- Mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer in Halobacteria -- Evidence for horizontal gene transfer in Halobacteria from single gene studies -- The origins of the Halobacteria may be rooted in horizontal gene transfer -- Homologous recombination within and between Halobacterial lineages -- Geographic isolation and barriers to recombination -- 4: Comparative Genomics of Haloarchaeal Viruses -- Introduction -- Haloarchaeal versus prokaryotic viruses -- Infection cycle -- Related or not related, that's the problem -- The influence of viral genes on their hosts -- Haloarchaeal viruses -- Conclusions and future prospects -- 5: Microbial Adaptation to Saline Environments: Lessons from the Genomes of Natranaerobius thermophilus and Halobacillus halophilus -- Introduction -- The anaerobic polyextremophile Natranaerobius thermophilus. The aerobic moderately halophilic Halobacillus halophilus -- Synopsis -- 6: Staying in Shape: The Haloarchaeal Cell Wall -- Introduction -- Structure of haloarchaeal surface (S)-layers -- Haloarchaeal S-layer glycoproteins -- Glycosylation of haloarchaeal S-layer glycoproteins -- Modulation of haloarchaeal S-layer glycoprotein N-glycosylation as an adaptive response -- Lipid-modification of haloarchaeal S-layer glycoproteins -- The cell envelope of the square haloarchaeon, Haloquadratum walsbyi -- Does the haloarchaeal cell envelope include a periplasmic space? -- The heteropolysaccharide cell walls of Halococcus morrhuae and Natronococcus occultus -- Future trends -- 7: Cell Cycle and Polyploidy in Haloarchaea -- Introduction -- The cell cycle of Halobacterium salinarum -- Regulated polyploidy in haloarchaea -- Evolutionary advantages of haloarchaeal polyploidy -- Gene conversion and escape from 'Muller's ratchet' -- Conclusions and outlook -- 8: Cell Regulation by Proteolytic Systems and Protein Conjugation -- Introduction -- Intramembrane proteolysis -- Energy-dependent proteases -- Targeting proteins for proteolysis -- Conclusions -- Index.
This book highlights current genetics and genomics research to provide a timely overview. Chapters are written by expert authors from around the world and include topics such as: ecology and evolution of Haloquadratum walsbyi; microdiversity of Salinibacter ruber; horizontal gene transfer in halobacteria; comparative genomics of haloarchaeal viruses; genomics of the halophilic bacteria Natranaerobius thermophilus and Halobacillus halophilus; the haloarchaeal cell wall; cell cycle and polyploidy in haloarchaea; cell regulation by proteolytic systems and protein conjugation. This major new work represents a valuable source of information to all those scientists interested in halophilic microorganisms, extremophiles, microbial ecology and environmental microbiology.