''Geoglobus'' is a
hyperthermophilic
A hyperthermophile is an organism that thrives in extremely hot environments—from 60 °C (140 °F) upwards. An optimal temperature for the existence of hyperthermophiles is often above 80 °C (176 °F). Hyperthermophiles are often within the doma ...
member of the
Archaeoglobaceae
Archaeoglobaceae are a family of the Archaeoglobales. All known genera within the Archaeoglobaceae are hyperthermophilic and can be found near undersea hydrothermal vents. Archaeoglobaceae are the only family in the order ''Archaeoglobales'', w ...
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. As a
hyperthermophile, it grows best at a temperature of 88 °C and cannot grow at temperatures below 65 °C or above 90 °C. It possess an
S-layer cell wall and a single
flagellum. ''G. ahangari'' is an
anaerobe
An anaerobic organism or anaerobe is any organism that does not require molecular oxygen for growth. It may react negatively or even die if free oxygen is present. In contrast, an aerobic organism (aerobe) is an organism that requires an oxygenate ...
, using poorly soluble
ferric iron
In chemistry, iron(III) refers to the element iron in its +3 oxidation state. In ionic compounds (salts), such an atom may occur as a separate cation (positive ion) denoted by Fe3+.
The adjective ferric or the prefix ferri- is often used to s ...
(Fe
3+) as a
terminal electron acceptor
An electron acceptor is a chemical entity that accepts electrons transferred to it from another compound. It is an oxidizing agent that, by virtue of its accepting electrons, is itself reduced in the process. Electron acceptors are sometimes mista ...
. It can grow either
autotrophically using
hydrogen gas (H
2) or heterotrophically using a large number of
organic compounds, including several types of
fatty acid
In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, ...
s, as energy sources. ''G. ahangari'' was the first archaeon isolated capable of using hydrogen gas coupled to iron reduction as an energy source and the first anaerobe isolated capable of using long-chain fatty acids as an energy source.
A second species was described as G. acetivorans, which also uses iron as its terminal electron acceptor.
See also
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List of Archaea genera
This article lists the genera of the Archaea. The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
Phylogeny
National Center for ...
References
Further reading
Scientific journals
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Scientific books
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Scientific databases
External links
Archaea genera
Marine fauna of the Gulf of California
Euryarchaeota
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