''Ferroplasma acidiphilum'' is an

acidophilic Acidophiles or acidophilic organisms are those that thrive under highly acidic conditions (usually at pH 5.0 or below). These organisms can be found in different branches of the tree of life, including Archaea, Bacteria,Becker, A.Types of Bacteri ...

autotrophic An autotroph is an organism that can convert abiotic sources of energy into energy stored in organic compounds, which can be used by other organisms. Autotrophs produce complex organic compounds (such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) us ...

ferrous iron In chemistry, iron(II) refers to the element iron in its +2 oxidation state. The adjective ''ferrous'' or the prefix ''ferro-'' is often used to specify such compounds, as in ''ferrous chloride'' for iron(II) chloride (). The adjective ''ferr ...

-oxidizing,

cell wall A cell wall is a structural layer that surrounds some Cell type, cell types, found immediately outside the cell membrane. It can be tough, flexible, and sometimes rigid. Primarily, it provides the cell with structural support, shape, protection, ...

-lacking,

mesophilic A mesophile is an organism that grows best in moderate temperature, neither too hot nor too cold, with an optimum growth range from . The optimum growth temperature for these organisms is 37 °C (about 99 °F). The term is mainly applied ...

member of the

Ferroplasmaceae Ferroplasmaceae is a family of archaeans in the order Thermoplasmatales. Phylogeny The accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). ...

. ''F. acidophilum'' is a mesophile with a temperature optimum of approximately 35 °C, growing optimally at a pH of 1.7. ''F. acidophilum'' is generally found in acidic mine

tailings In mining, tailings or tails are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore. Tailings are different from overburden, which is the waste rock or other material ...

, primarily those containing

pyrite The mineral pyrite ( ), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue ...

(FeS₂). It is especially abundant in cases of severe

acid mine drainage Acid mine drainage, acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD), or acid rock drainage (ARD) is the outflow of acidic water from metal mines and coal mines. Acid rock drainage occurs naturally within some environments as part of the rock weatherin ...

, where other organisms such as ''

Acidithiobacillus ''Acidithiobacillus'' is a genus of the '' Acidithiobacillia'' in the phylum "'' Pseudomonadota''". This genus includes ten species of acidophilic microorganisms capable of sulfur and/or iron oxidation: ''Acidithiobacillus albertensis, Acidithiob ...

'' and '' Leptospirillum'' lower the pH of the environment to the extent that ''F. acidophilum'' is allowed to flourish. ''F. acidophilum'' obtains energy by oxidation of the ferrous iron in pyrite using

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

as a

terminal electron acceptor An electron acceptor is a chemical entity that accepts electrons transferred to it from another compound. Electron acceptors are oxidizing agents. The electron accepting power of an electron acceptor is measured by its redox potential. In the si ...

. This process produces

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, ...

as a by-product, leading to further acidification of its environment. Its type strain is YT.

References

External links

*
LPSNType strain of ''Ferroplasma acidiphilum'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferroplasma acidiphilum Euryarchaeota Archaea described in 2000

References

Further reading

External links