#1 Sources and properties of ECTOINE ECTOINE is a extremophile microorganism discovered in 1985 by scientists in the salt lakes of the Egyptian desert. Salt lakes, deserts, saline-alkali soils, and similar environments are among the most inhospitable conditions on Earth, yet it's hard to imagine that some organisms thrive and flourish in these extreme climates. During my doctoral studies, I conducted research on extremophiles. I successfully extracted specific genes from halo