Understanding the tolerance of halophilic archaea to stress landscapes

Haloarchaea, known for their resilience to environmental fluctuations, require a minimum salt concentration of 10% (w/v) for growth and can survive up to 35% (w/v) salinity. In biotechnology, these halophiles have diverse industrial applications. This study investigates the tolerance responses of nine haloarchaea: Haloferax mediterranei, Haloferax volcanii, Haloferax gibbonsii, Halorubrum californiense, Halorubrum litoreum, Natrinema pellirubrum, Natrinema altunense, Haloterrigena thermotolerans and Haloarcula sinaiiensis, under various stressful conditions. All these archaea demonstrated the ability to thrive in the presence of toxic metals such as chromium, nickel, cobalt and arsenic, and their tolerance to significantly elevated lithium concentrations in the medium was remarkable. Among the studied haloarchaea, Hfx. mediterranei exhibited superior resilience, particularly against lithium, with an impressive minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of up to 4 M LiCl, even replacing NaCl entirely. Haloferax species showed specificity for conditions with maximal growth rates, while Htg. thermotolerans and Nnm. altunense displayed high resilience without losing growth throughout the ranges, although these were generally low. ICP-MS results highlighted the impressive intracellular lithium accumulation in Nnm. pellirubrum, emphasizing its potential significance in bioremediation. This research highlights a new characteristic of haloarchaea, their tolerance to high lithium concentrations and the potential for new applications in extreme industrial processes and bioremediation.