Feeling salty? Due to its antibacterial properties salt has long been used as a preservative. Salt kills some types of bacteria, effectively by sucking water out of them. In a process known as osmosis, water passes out of a bacterium so as to balance salt concentrations on each side of its cell membrane.

Can high salinity kill bacteria?

Although salt does not destroy all bacteria, it can kill a lot of them due to its dehydrating effects on bacterial cells. Some bacteria are halotolerant, meaning they can tolerate salt. Halotolerant bacteria can live, grow, and reproduce in salty concentrations.

What bacteria can survive salt?

The halophiles, named after the Greek word for "salt-loving", are extremophiles that thrive in high salt concentrations. While most halophiles are classified into the domain Archaea, there are also bacterial halophiles and some eukaryotic species, such as the alga Dunaliella salina and fungus Wallemia ichthyophaga.