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What effect does salt have (in general) that causes microorganisms problems? Is it just sodium chloride, or do other salts have the same effect?
by lucaspiller 12y ago
What effect does salt have (in general) that causes microorganisms problems? Is it just sodium chloride, or do other salts have the same effect?
- tstactplsignore 12y agoA high salt gradient outside of the cell creates osmotic pressure which causes water to leave the cell, essentially drying the inside of the cell out completely. All solutes have this kind of osmotic effect, so that would include all salts. Organisms deal with it by pumping Potassium ions inside of their cells (to match the outside concentration with a strong inside concentration) and by creating a bunch of (safe) organic molecules on the inside of the cell to match the osmotic pressure created by solutes on the outside of the cell.