Archaeoglobaceae are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

of the

Archaeoglobales Archaeoglobaceae are a family (biology), family of the Archaeoglobales. All known genera within the Archaeoglobaceae are hyperthermophile, hyperthermophilic and can be found near undersea hydrothermal vents. Archaeoglobaceae are the only family i ...

. All known genera within the Archaeoglobaceae are

hyperthermophilic A hyperthermophile is an organism that thrives in extremely hot environments—from 60 °C (140 °F) upward. An optimal temperature for the existence of hyperthermophiles is often above 80 °C (176 °F). Hyperthermophiles are of ...

and can be found near undersea

hydrothermal vent Hydrothermal vents are fissures on the seabed from which geothermally heated water discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hot ...

s. Archaeoglobaceae are the only family in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

''Archaeoglobales'', which is the only order in the

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

''Archaeoglobi''.

Mode of metabolism

While all genera within the Archaeoglobaceae are related to each other phylogenetically, the mode of metabolism used by each of these organisms is unique. ''

Archaeoglobus ''Archaeoglobus'' is a genus of archaeans in the phylum Euryarchaeota. ''Archaeoglobus'' can be found in high-temperature oil fields where they may contribute to oil field souring. Metabolism ''Archaeoglobus'' grow anaerobically at extremely ...

'' are

chemoorganotroph Primary nutritional groups are groups of organisms, divided in relation to the nutrition mode according to the sources of energy and carbon, needed for living, growth and reproduction. The sources of energy can be light or chemical compounds; the ...

ic sulfate-reducing archaea, the only known member of the

Archaea Archaea ( ) is a Domain (biology), domain of organisms. Traditionally, Archaea only included its Prokaryote, prokaryotic members, but this has since been found to be paraphyletic, as eukaryotes are known to have evolved from archaea. Even thou ...

that possesses this type of metabolism. ''

Ferroglobus ''Ferroglobus'' is a genus of the Archaeoglobaceae.See the NCBIbr>webpage on Ferroglobus Data extracted from the ''Ferroglobus'' is a hyperthermophilic genus phylogenetically located within the Euryarchaeota. It consists of one species, ''F. ...

'', in contrast, are

chemolithotroph Lithotrophs are a diverse group of organisms using an inorganic substrate (usually of mineral origin) to obtain reducing equivalents for use in biosynthesis (e.g., carbon dioxide fixation) or energy conservation (i.e., ATP production) via aerob ...

ic organisms that couple the oxidation of

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 ...

to the reduction of

nitrate Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . salt (chemistry), Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are solubility, soluble in wa ...

. ''

Geoglobus ''Geoglobus'' is a hyperthermophilic member of the Archaeoglobaceae within the Euryarchaeota. It consists of two species, the first, ''G. ahangari'', isolated from the Guaymas Basin hydrothermal system located deep within the Gulf of California. ...

'' are iron reducing-archaea that use

hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

gas or

organic compound Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...

s as energy sources.

Characteristic and genera

''Archaeoglobaceae'' have three genera and here are some brief differences between them: *

: This genus contains the most well-known and studied members of the Archaeoglobaceae family. They are thermophilic sulfate-reducing bacteria that are found in hydrothermal vents and oil reservoirs. They can grow at high temperatures and use a variety of organic compounds as electron donors. *

: This genus contains a single species, Ferroglobus placidus, which is found in hydrothermal vents. They are

thermophilic A thermophile is a type of extremophile that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between . Many thermophiles are archaea, though some of them are bacteria and fungi. Thermophilic eubacteria are suggested to have been among the earliest bact ...

and can grow at high temperatures, but they differ from other members of the family in that they use iron as an electron donor instead of organic compounds. *

: This genus contains a single species, Geoglobus acetivorans, which is found in

hydrothermal Hydrothermal circulation in its most general sense is the circulation of hot water (Ancient Greek ὕδωρ, ''water'',Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with th ...

vents. They are thermophilic and can grow at high temperatures, and they differ from other members of the family in that they use acetate as an electron donor.

Living environments

Archaeoglobus

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

are found in a variety of extreme environments, including deep-sea hydrothermal vents, oil reservoirs, and hot springs. These environments are characterized by high temperatures, high pressures, and low oxygen concentrations, which make them inhospitable to most other forms of life (Topçuoğlu et al 2019). They are able to thrive in these environments by using a variety of metabolic pathways to obtain energy, and by producing a range of heat-shock proteins and other stress-response mechanisms that help them to survive in these extreme conditions. They are extremophiles, which means they can also be found in environments that are high in salt content, such as in salt flats or Salt Lake. Archaeoglobaceae are able to thrive in these extreme environments because they are able to use a variety of different minerals and gases to make energy. For example, some species of Archaeoglobaceae are able to use sulfur in a process called

dissimilatory In phonology, particularly within historical linguistics, dissimilation is a phenomenon whereby similar consonants or vowels in a word become less similar or elided. In English, dissimilation is particularly common with liquid consonants such ...

sulfate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ...

reduction, which allows them to produce energy without the need for oxygen. Other species of Archaeoglobaceae are able to use

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

dioxide or hydrogen gas as a source of energy(Topçuoğlu et al 2019). In addition to their ability to use different energy sources, some species of Archaeoglobaceae are also known to form symbiotic relationships with other organisms. For example, some species of Archaeoglobaceae have been found living in association with tube worms, which are able to extract

nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...

s from the hydrothermal vent environment and provide them to the bacteria in exchange for energy. These symbiotic relationships are thought to be important for the survival of both the bacteria and the tube worms in these extreme environments(Topçuoğlu et al 2019).

Phylogeny

The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the

List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) is an online database that maintains information on the naming and taxonomy of prokaryotes, following the taxonomy requirements and rulings of the International Code of Nomenclatu ...

(LPSN) and

National Center for Biotechnology Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. The NCBI is lo ...

(NCBI).

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4785366 Archaea taxonomic families Thermophiles Sulphophiles Organisms living on hydrothermal vents Euryarchaeota