What is Alkaliphile?
[[File:20101017 175758 Bacilli.jpg|thumbnail|An image of a [[bacillus]] from a [[petri dish]]. Many alkaliphiles have a bacillus [[morphology]]]] An '''alkaliphile''' is an organism that lives and grows well in extremely [[alkali]]ne conditions that are [[harm]]ful to most life on Earth.<ref>Singh O.V. 2012. ''Extremophiles: sustainable resources and biotechnological implications''. Wiley, 76–79. {{ISBN|978-1-118-10300-5}}</ref> To be considered an alkaliphile, the organism must have optimal growth in [[environment]]s with a [[pH]] level of 9.0 or above. Surviving and growing in an environment that has a high pH level is very difficult. Many processes in the [[cell]] are blocked by high pH levels. Alkaline conditions change [[DNA]], and make the [[plasma membrane]] of the [[cell]] unstable. Alkaliphiles have two basic methods of dealing with these problems: Either they have a way of making the environment more [[acid]]ic, or they have adapted the cellular processes, so that they work best in highly alkaline conditions. To find out which of the two mechanisms a specific organism uses, [[experiment]]s are needed. == References == {{reflist}} {{-}} {{biology-stub}} [[Category:Extremophiles]]