Extreme Habitats
Microorganisms Who Love Acid
Acid-tolerance is another survival factor shown by various groups of primitive microbes
of relevance to early Earth and potential relevance to Hesperian Mars.
Some are photosynthetic, such as the primitive unicellular red alga
Cyanidium caldarium, which can tolerate pH values of 0.05. Others are
chemosynthetic, such as the extremely acidiphilic archaebacterium Sulpholobus acidocaldarius.
They are often also thermophilic as befits their primitive origins.
Salt Tolerance: The Penalty of Liquid Water Below Normal Freezing Point
Hypersalinity per se as shown by the Antarctic archaebacter Halobacterium
lacusprofundi from Deep Lake may be crucial for survival in
hypothetical supercooled brine aquifers emerging onto the surface of Mars.
Continue with Biofilms