# Halococcus

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Genus of archaea

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Halococcus Scientific classification Domain: Archaea Kingdom: Methanobacteriati Phylum: Methanobacteriota Class: Halobacteria Order: Halobacteriales Family: Halococcaceae Genus: Halococcus Schoop 1935[1] Type species Halococcus litoralis (Poulsen 1879) Schoop 1935 Species H. agarilyticus H. dombrowskii H. hamelinensis H. morrhuae H. qingdaonensis H. saccharolyticus H. salifodinae H. salsus H. sediminicola H. thailandensis

***Halococcus*** (common abbreviation: ***Hcc.***), from [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) ἅλς (*háls*), meaning "salt", and [κόκκος](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CE%BA%CF%8C%CE%BA%CE%BA%CE%BF%CF%82) (*kókkos*), meaning "berry", is a [genus](/source/Genus) of [archaeans](/source/Archaea) in the family [Halococcaceae](/source/Halococcaceae).

## Ecology

*Halococcus* is a genus of extreme halophilic archaea, meaning that they require high salt levels, sometimes as high as 32% NaCl, for optimal growth. Halophiles are found mainly in inland bodies of water with high salinity, where their pigments (from a protein called rhodopsinprotein) tint the sediment bright colors. Rhodopsinprotein and other proteins serve to protect *Halococcus* from the extreme salinities of their environments. Because they can function under such high-salt conditions, *Halococcus* and similar halophilic organisms have been used in the food industry and even in skin-care products.

*Halococcus* is found in environments with high salt levels, mainly inland bodies of salt water, but some may be located in highly salted soil or foods. The pigmented proteins in some species cause the reddish tint found in some areas of the Dead Sea and the Great Salt Lake, especially at the end of the growing season. When under cultivation, the organisms grew best under high salinity conditions.[2]

## Genome structure

The genome of multiple halococcus species have been sequenced.[3] The 16s [rDNA](/source/Ribosomal_DNA) of a species[*[which?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_words)*] has demonstrated its placement on the [phylogenetic tree](/source/Phylogenetic_tree). Due to the organisms' potential longevity, *Halococcus* may be a good candidate for exploring taxonomic similarities to life found in outer space.

## Cell structure and metabolism

*Halococcus* species are able to survive in high-saline habitats because of chlorine pumps that maintain osmotic balance with the salinity of their habitat, and thus prevent dehydration of the cytoplasm.

The cells are cocci, 0.6–1.5 micrometres long with sulfated polysaccharide walls. The cells are organtrophic, using amino acids, organic acids, or carbohydrates for energy. In some cases, they are also able to photosynthesize.

## Phylogeny

The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the [List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature](/source/List_of_Prokaryotic_names_with_Standing_in_Nomenclature) (LPSN)[1] and [National Center for Biotechnology Information](/source/National_Center_for_Biotechnology_Information) (NCBI).[2]

16S rRNA based LTP_10_2024[4][5][6] 53 marker proteins based GTDB 10-RS226[7][8][9] Halococcus H. hamelinensis Goh et al. 2006 H. salsus Chen et al. 2018 H. salifodinae Denner et al. 1994 H. agarilyticus Minegishi et al. 2015 H. saccharolyticus Montero et al. 1990 H. sediminicola Yim et al. 2014 H. thailandensis Namwong et al. 2007 H. qingdaonensis Wang et al. 2007 H. dombrowskii Stan-Lotter et al. 2002 H. morrhuae (Farlow 1880) Kocur & Hodgkiss 1973 Halococcus H. agarilyticus H. saccharolyticus H. salifodinae H. hamelinensis H. salsus H. sediminicola H. morrhuae [incl. H. dombrowskii] H. qingdaonensis H. thailandensis

## See also

- [List of Archaea genera](/source/List_of_Archaea_genera)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-LPSN_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-LPSN_1-1) J.P. Euzéby. ["Halococcus"](https://lpsn.dsmz.de/genus/halococcus). [List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature](/source/List_of_Prokaryotic_names_with_Standing_in_Nomenclature) (LPSN). Retrieved 17 November 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-NCBI_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-NCBI_2-1) Sayers; et al. ["Halococcus"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Tree&id=2249&lvl=3&lin=f&keep=1&srchmode=1&unlock). [National Center for Biotechnology Information](/source/National_Center_for_Biotechnology_Information) (NCBI) taxonomy database. Retrieved 5 June 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Complete genomes: Halococcus"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/virus/vssi/#/virus?SeqType_s=Nucleotide&VirusLineage_ss=Viruses,taxid:2249).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["The LTP"](https://imedea.uib-csic.es/mmg/ltp/#LTP). Retrieved 10 December 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["LTP_all tree in newick format"](https://imedea.uib-csic.es/mmg/ltp/wp-content/uploads/ltp/LTP_all_10_2024.ntree). Retrieved 10 December 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["LTP_10_2024 Release Notes"](https://imedea.uib-csic.es/mmg/ltp/wp-content/uploads/ltp/LTP_10_2024_release_notes.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved 10 December 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-about_7-0)** ["GTDB release 10-RS226"](https://gtdb.ecogenomic.org/about#4%7C). *[Genome Taxonomy Database](/source/Genome_Taxonomy_Database)*. Retrieved 1 May 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-tree_8-0)** ["ar53_r226.sp_label"](https://data.gtdb.ecogenomic.org/releases/release226/226.0/auxillary_files/ar53_r226.sp_labels.tree). *[Genome Taxonomy Database](/source/Genome_Taxonomy_Database)*. Retrieved 1 May 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-taxon_history_9-0)** ["Taxon History"](https://gtdb.ecogenomic.org/taxon_history/). *[Genome Taxonomy Database](/source/Genome_Taxonomy_Database)*. Retrieved 1 May 2025.

## Further reading

### Scientific journals

- Oren A, Ventosa A (2000). ["International Committee on Systematic Bacteriology Subcommittee on the taxonomy of Halobacteriaceae. Minutes of the meetings, 16 August 1999, Sydney, Australia"](https://doi.org/10.1099%2F00207713-50-3-1405). *Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol*. **50** (3): 1405–1407. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1099/00207713-50-3-1405](https://doi.org/10.1099%2F00207713-50-3-1405). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [10843089](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10843089).

- Schoop, G (1935). "Halococcus litoralis, ein obligat halophiler Farbstofflbildner". *Deutsche Tierärztliche Wochenschrift*. **43**: 817–820.

### Scientific books

- Gibbons, NE (1974). "Family V. Halobacteriaceae fam. nov.". In RE Buchanan; NE Gibbons (eds.). [*Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology*](https://archive.org/details/bergeysmanualofd00atio) (8th ed.). Baltimore: The Williams & Wilkins Co. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-683-01117-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-683-01117-0).

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Taxon identifiers Halococcus Wikidata: Q5643365 Wikispecies: Halococcus (Halobacteriaceae) EoL: 86145 GBIF: 1000165 iNaturalist: 507407 IRMNG: 1305549 ITIS: 951504 LPSN: halococcus NCBI: 2249 Open Tree of Life: 1094188 SeqCode Registry: 8870 WoRMS: 573355

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