Isolation and exopolysaccharide screening of halophiles from Zhoushan Islands

Totally 120 halophilic strains were isolated from mud and water samples from Zhoushan Islands.Most of the isolates are moderately halophilic or halotorant,in which,white colonies are dominant species while red and yellow colonies are also popular.Cells of the isolates are mainly cocci or rod-shaped and approximately 81.6% of the strains are Gram-negative.The results indicated that the communities of halophiles are widely distributed in Zhoushan Islands and possess diversity.All the isolates were screened for EPS,among which 19 strains showed positive in EPS-producing.The strain HS239 displayed high EPS productivity.