halophile

American  

[hal-uh-fahyl] / ˈhæl əˌfaɪl /

noun

Microbiology.

1. any organism, most commonly a species of archaea, that requires a salt-rich environment for its growth and survival.

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halophile British  

/ ˈhæləʊˌfaɪl /

noun

1. an organism that thrives in an extremely salty environment, such as the Dead Sea

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Other Word Forms

• halophilic adjective
• halophilous adjective

Etymology

Origin of halophile

First recorded in 1835–45; halo- + -phile

Example Sentences

One extreme halophile and the thermoacid­ophile been that they have a cell wall incor­porating the sugar derivative muramic acid, which is the basis of a complex polymer called a peptidoglycan.

From Scientific American • Jan. 1, 2013

One ex­treme halophile and the thermoacidophile Sulfolobus were known to be exceptions to this generalization; they were considered to have an idiosyncratic wall structure.

From Scientific American • Jan. 1, 2013