Turkish Journal of Biology

Abstract: Alkaline environments are typical extreme environments which include naturally occurring soda lakes, deserts, soils and artificially occurring industrial-derived waters. Micro-organisms that occupy extreme pH environments have resulted in the definition of an unusual group, termed alkaliphiles. In this review, the current status of the biodiversity of alkaliphilic micro-organisms in various environments and aspects of their biotechnological potential are summarised briefly.

Key Words: Alkaliphiles, extreme environments, soda lakes, extremophiles, microbial ecology