Novel halophilic aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs from a Canadian hypersaline spring system.

The first enumeration of cultivable obligately aerobic phototrophic bacteria from a terrestrial saline spring was accomplished in the East German Creek system (salinity approximately 6%), near Lake Winnipegosis, Manitoba, Canada. Occurring at densities up to 3.3x10(7) CFU/ml of sample, aerobic phototrophs comprised 15-36% of the total cultivable bacterial population in the diatom- and chlorophyte-dominated aerobic microbial mats.