(Natronobacterium gregoryi)

        Soda Lakes

Alkalophiles are alkali-loving microbes.

Most natural environments on the earth are essentially neutral, having pH values between five and nine, alkaliphiles favor habitats with a pH above nine.  Alkaliphiles live in soils laden with carbonate and in so-called soda lakes, such as those found in Egypt, the Rift Valley of Africa and the western U.S.  Above a pH of eight or so, certain molecules, notably those made of RNA, break down.  Consequently, alkaliphiles maintain neutrality in their interior, and their extremozymes are located on or near the cell surface and in external secretions.

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Mojave River (alkaline lake)