Aquifex pyrophilus

Aquifex pyrophilus
Scientific classification
Domain:
Bacteria
Phylum:
Aquificota
Class:
Aquificia
Order:
Aquificales
Family:
Aquificaceae
Genus:
Aquifex
Species:
A. pyrophilus
Binomial name
Aquifex pyrophilus
Huber and Stetter, 1992

Aquifex pyrophilus is a rod-shaped bacterium with a length of 2 to 6 micrometers and a diameter of around half a micrometer. It is one of a handful of species in the Aquificota phylum, an unusual group of thermophilic bacteria that are thought to be some of the oldest species in the bacteria domain.[1][2][3]

Aquifex pyrophilus grows best in water between 85 and 95 °C, and can be found near underwater volcanoes or hot springs. It typically uses oxygen in its respiration, producing water as a byproduct, thus leading to the name "Aquifex," meaning "water-maker." However A. pyrophilus can even grow anaerobically by reducing nitrogen instead of oxygen. Members of the species tend to form large cell conglomerations, comprising up to 100 individual cells. It was discovered just north of Iceland.[4]

The genome of Aquifex aeolicus, a member of the same genus, has been successfully mapped. Comparison of this genome to other organisms showed that around 16% of its genes originated from the Archaea domain. It is assumed that A. pyrophilus also has this property.[5]

Robert Huber and Karl Stetter first discovered A. pyrophilus, in 1992.

References

  1. ↑ Beblo, Kristina; Douki, Thierry; Schmalz, Gottfried; Rachel, Reinhard; Wirth, Reinhard; Huber, Harald; Reitz, Günther; Rettberg, Petra (2011). "Survival of thermophilic and hyperthermophilic microorganisms after exposure to UV-C, ionizing radiation and desiccation". Archives of Microbiology. 193 (11): 797–809. doi:10.1007/s00203-011-0718-5. PMID 21638055. S2CID 2281391.
  2. ↑ "Aquifex". Kenyon College. Archived from the original on 12 March 2005. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  3. ↑ Gerard Deckert; Patrick V. Warren; Terry Gaasterland; William G. Young; Anna L. Lenox; David E. Graham; Ross Overbeek; Marjory A. Snead; Martin Keller; Monette Aujay; Robert Huber; Robert A. Feldman; Jay M. Short; Gary J. Olsen; Ronald V. Swanson (3 February 1998). "The complete genome of the hyperthermophilic bacterium Aquifex aeolicus" (PDF). Nature. 392 (6674): 353–358. Bibcode:1998Natur.392..353D. doi:10.1038/32831. PMID 9537320. S2CID 4413967. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  4. ↑ The Prokaryotes: An Evolving Electronic Resource for the Microbiological Community. New York: Springer-Verlag New York, LLC. 2004.
  5. ↑ "Type strain of Aquifex pyrophilus". BacDive - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.


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