''Geoglobus'' is a

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 ...

member of the

Archaeoglobaceae 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 ...

within the

Euryarchaeota Methanobacteriota is a phylum in the domain Archaea. Taxonomy The phylum ''Methanobacteriota'' was introduced to prokaryotic nomenclature in 2023. It contains following classes: *Archaeoglobi Garrity & Holt (2002) *Halobacteria Grant ''et al ...

. It consists of two species, the first, ''G. ahangari'', isolated from the

Guaymas Basin The Guaymas Basin is the largest marginal rift Depression (geology), basin located in the Gulf of California. It made up of the northern and southern Trough (geology), trough and is linked to the Guaymas Fault to the north and the Carmen Fault to t ...

hydrothermal system located deep within the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from ...

. As a

hyperthermophile 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 ...

, 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 An S-layer (surface layer) is a part of the cell envelope found in almost all archaea, as well as in many types of bacteria. The S-layers of both archaea and bacteria consists of a Monolayer, monomolecular layer composed of only one (or, in a few c ...

cell wall and a single

flagellum A flagellum (; : flagella) (Latin for 'whip' or 'scourge') is a hair-like appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, from fungal spores ( zoospores), and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many pr ...

. ''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 oxygenat ...

, using poorly soluble ferric iron (Fe³⁺) 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 ...

. It can grow either

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 ...

ally using

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 (H₂) or heterotrophically using a large number of

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, including several types of

fatty acid In chemistry, in particular in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated and unsaturated compounds#Organic chemistry, saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an ...

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.

References

External links

Archaea genera Marine fauna of the Gulf of California Euryarchaeota {{archaea-stub

See also

References

Further reading

Scientific journals

Scientific books

External links