''Dictyoglomus'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
bacterium
Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the ...
,
given its own
phylum
In biology, a phylum (; : phyla) is a level of classification, or taxonomic rank, that is below Kingdom (biology), kingdom and above Class (biology), class. Traditionally, in botany the term division (taxonomy), division has been used instead ...
, called the Dictyoglomerota.
[Parte, A.C., Sardà Carbasse, J., Meier-Kolthoff, J.P., Reimer, L.C. and Göker, M. (2020). ]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) moves to the DSMZ. ''International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology'', 70, 5607-5612; DOI
10.1099/ijsem.0.004332
/ref> This organism is extremely 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 ...
, meaning it thrives at extremely high temperatures. It is chemoorganotrophic
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 ...
, meaning it derives energy by metabolizing organic molecules. This organism is of interest because it elaborates an enzyme, xylanase
Endo-1,4-β-xylanase (, systematic name 4-β-D-xylan xylanohydrolase) is any of a class of enzymes that degrade the linear polysaccharide xylan into xylose, thus breaking down hemicellulose, one of the major components of plant cell walls:
: En ...
, which digests xylan, a heteropolymer of the pentose sugar xylose
Xylose ( , , "wood") is a sugar first isolated from wood, and named for it. Xylose is classified as a monosaccharide of the aldopentose type, which means that it contains five carbon atoms and includes an aldehyde functional group. It is deriv ...
. By pretreating wood pulp with this enzyme, paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...
manufacturers can achieve comparable levels of whiteness with much less chlorine
Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...
bleach.
It has been described as gram-negative
Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that, unlike gram-positive bacteria, do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. Their defining characteristic is that their cell envelope consists ...
, with a triple-layered wall.
References
Further reading
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External links
Type strain of ''Dictyoglomus thermophilum'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Gram-negative bacteria
{{Bacteria-stub