Types of Extremophiles

Mechanisms of adaptation to acidic environments Most acidophile organisms have evolved extremely efficient mechanisms to pump protons out of the intracellular space in order to keep the cytoplasm at or near neutral pH. Therefore, intracellular proteins do not need to develop acid stability through evolution. However, other acidophiles, such as

As nouns the difference between halophile and extremophile is that halophile is (biology) an organism that lives and thrives in an environment of high salinity, often requiring such an environment; a form of extremophile while extremophile is (biology) an organism that lives under extreme conditions of temperature, salinity etc; commercially important as a source of enzymes that operate under similar conditions.

Halophiles - Organisms that live in environments with very high concentrations of salt. Example: Halobacterium salinarum can exist in the Dead Sea.

Adapting to Extreme Heat. One type of extremophiles is called thermophiles. These organisms can survive at very high temperatures. In the 1960s, heat resistant bacteria were discovered in hot springs in Yellowstone National Park.

Extremophiles known as psychrophiles are known to survive at these low temperatures. Different species have come up with different ways to survive these cold temperatures. Some have developed substances, such as glycerol or antifreeze proteins which lower the freezing point of water by several degrees.

Fungal Xerophiles (Osmophiles) Olga Vinnere Pettersson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, ... Extremophiles 8: 53–61. Vinnere Pettersson O, ...