Introduction. Biology of halophilic bacteria: Research priorities and biotechnological potential for the 1990s

The eight papers accompanying this introductory review are part of the proceedings of an American Society for Microbiology Conference held in Williamsburg, VA from November 15 22, 1992. Conference attendees participated in discussions centered around the title of this introduction. One goal of the meeting was to identify the most important research priorities for the coming decade. A second goal was to discuss the biotechnological potential of microbes that live in hypersaline environments. These eight papers are the first of the invited talks to be published in this journal. Another group will appear in a future issue.