Viruses of Extremely Halophilic Prokaryotes

Abstract

As viruses are known to be the most distinct source of biodiversity, it is not surprising that they are the most abundant biological group in hypersaline environments such as aquatic systems which have saturated salt concentrations. However, of more than 6000 known prokaryote viruses less than 100 are considered to be extremely halophilic (salt loving) and have the ability to infect bacteria. Combination of information obtained from culture dependent and culture independent methods allow better understanding of these viruses. This review will update the advances in halophilic viruses and its impact on the bacteriophage studies.