Non-halophilic bacteria grow best in medium
containing less than 1% salt (Marquez et al., 1987).
These are the primary organisms in freshwater and
terrestrial ecosystems and studies conducted on activated
sludges and trickling filters indicate that nonhalophiles
are the dominant members in conventional
waste treatment cultures.
Marine bacteria are organisms which grow best in
1-3% salt. These organisms also possess halotolerant
characteristics and can coexist (even compete) with
more halophilic bacteria in natural hypersaline
environments (Marquez et al., 1987).
True halophilic bacteria require salt (specifically
NaC1) for survival. These organisms can be divided
into two groups. Moderate halophiles are organisms
which grow best in medium containing 3-15%
(0.5-2.5 M) NaCI (Kushner and Kakemura, 1988).