In
taxonomy, ''Natronococcus'' is a
genus of the
Natrialbaceae.
Description and significance
This haloalkaliphilic archaeon is in the same family as
microorganisms
A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...
like ''
Halobacterium
''Halobacterium'' (common abbreviation ''Hbt.'') is a genus in the family Halobacteriaceae.
The genus ''Halobacterium'' ("salt" or "ocean bacterium") consists of several species of Archaea with an aerobic metabolism which requires an environment ...
''. Study of ''Natronococcus'' continues to explore what enzymes are present in order to survive in these conditions, especially since there has not been much literature about enzymes of haloalkaliphiles.
Genome structure
The G + C content for the major chromosome is 64.0% while the minor component has a 55.7% content. The approximate size of the
plasmid
A plasmid is a small, extrachromosomal DNA molecule within a cell that is physically separated from chromosomal DNA and can replicate independently. They are most commonly found as small circular, double-stranded DNA molecules in bacteria; how ...
is 144 kbp.
Cell structure and metabolism
''Natronococcus'' is a
heterotrophic,
aerobic organism that can use sugars as an energy source to stimulate growth. It can fix nitrogen from
casamino acids Casamino acids is a mixture of amino acids and some very small peptides obtained from acid hydrolysis of casein. It is typically used in microbial growth media. It has all the essential amino acids except tryptophan, which is destroyed by digestion ...
and reduces
nitrates
Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are soluble in water. An example of an insoluble ...
to
nitrites.
Cells are non-
motile and occur in irregular clusters, pairs, and single cells. The cell is
coccoid
Coccoid means shaped like or resembling a coccus, that is, spherical.The noun coccoid or coccoids may refer to:
* a level of organization, characterized by unicellular, non-flagellated, non-amoeboid organisms, with a definite shape, in general b ...
in shape and 1–2 micrometres in diameter. colonies are pale brown and circular.
Ecology
''N. occultus'' has been isolated from the soda lake
Lake Magadi. This halophilic archaeon is partial to environments with 8–30%
NaCl with optimum growth at 22%. It also grows in a
pH range of 8.5–11 (optimum at 9.5) and a temperature range of 20–50 °C (optimum at 40 °C).
References
Further reading
Scientific journals
*
Scientific books
*
Scientific databases
External links
Type strain of ''Natronococcus occultus'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6980255
Archaea genera
Taxa described in 1984