Morphological and phylogenetic diversity of thermophilic cyanobacteria in Algerian hot springs.

Geothermal springs in Algeria have been known since the Roman Empire. They mainly locate in Eastern Algeria and are inhabited by thermophilic organisms, which include cyanobacteria forming mats and concretions. In this work, we have investigated the cyanobacterial diversity of these springs.

Melghirimyces thermohalophilus sp. nov., a thermoactinomycete isolated from an Algerian salt lake.

A novel filamentous bacterium, designated Nari11A(T), was isolated from soil collected from a salt lake named Chott Melghir, located in north-eastern Algeria. The strain is an aerobic, halophilic, thermotolerant, Gram-stain-positive bacterium, growing at NaCl concentrations between 5 and 20 % (w/v) and at 43-60 °C and pH 5.0-10.