Passive electrical properties of Halobacterium species. I. Low-frequency range.

The electrical conductivity of suspensions of two species of Halobacterium was measured at low A. C. frequency. The results obtained from Halobacterium halobium suspensions show that the bacteria act as non-conducting particles. In contrast, the cells of a Halobacterium obtained from the Dead Sea (Halobacterium marismortui) had an apparently high conductivity which can be explained partly in terms of the cell-membrane being pierced by pores through which ions can move freely and partly in terms of highly concentrated cell ions, all of which are mobile.