''Iodidimonas'' is a genus of

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

that oxidizes elemental

iodide An iodide ion is I−. Compounds with iodine in formal oxidation state −1 are called iodides. In everyday life, iodide is most commonly encountered as a component of iodized salt, which many governments mandate. Worldwide, iodine deficiency ...

() to molecular iodine (). It was isolated from iodide-rich brine associated with natural gas in Kujukuri, Japan. Geiger ''et alii'' (2023) suggest that ''Iodidimonas'' may be the closest living relative of

mitochondria A mitochondrion () is an organelle found in the cells of most eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is us ...

. If true, this lineage and protomitochondria emerged from a common ancestor before the symbiogenetic event that gave rise to the

eukaryote The eukaryotes ( ) constitute the Domain (biology), domain of Eukaryota or Eukarya, organisms whose Cell (biology), cells have a membrane-bound cell nucleus, nucleus. All animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, seaweeds, and many unicellular organisms ...

References

Caulobacterales Bacteria genera {{alphaproteobacteria-stub