However, all known archaeal
viruses infect extremophiles – mainly hyperthermophiles
belonging to the crenarchaeal genera Sulfolobus
and Acidianus or halophiles of the euryarchaeal genera
Haloarcula, Halorubrum, and Halobacterium. Even
though bacteria are also found in diverse extreme habitats
such as hypersaline lakes, archaea typically dominate at
extreme salinities, based on both cultivation-dependent
and -independent studies. Consequently, archaeal
viruses do the same in hypersaline environments.