''Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius'' is a species of
Gram positive, strictly aerobic,
bacterium. The bacteria are acidophilic, thermophilic, and produce endospores. The first identified strains of ''A. acidocaldarius'' were from
geyser
A geyser (, ) is a spring characterized by an intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. As a fairly rare phenomenon, the formation of geysers is due to particular hydrogeological conditions that exist only in ...
s in
Yellowstone National Park and
fumerole
A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...
soil in
Hawaii Volcano National Park. The species was originally classified as ''Bacillus acidocaldarius'' in 1971, but further
16S rRNA 16S rRNA may refer to:
* 16S ribosomal RNA
16 S ribosomal RNA (or 16 S rRNA) is the RNA component of the 30S subunit of a prokaryotic ribosome ( SSU rRNA). It binds to the Shine-Dalgarno sequence and provides most of the SSU structure.
The g ...
studies found that the species belonged in the newly created genus ''Alicyclobacillus''. The species name is derived from the
Latin ''acidum'' (acid) and ''caldarius'' (pertaining to warm or hot), referring to the acidic and high temperature environments from which it was first isolated.
Thomas D. Brock
Thomas Dale Brock (September 10, 1926 – April 4, 2021) was an American microbiologist known for his discovery of hyperthermophiles living in Geothermal areas of Yellowstone, hot springs at Yellowstone National Park. In the late 1960s, Brock di ...
was one of the researchers who first categorized the species; his discovery of ''
Thermus aquaticus'' allowed for other researchers to discover
Taq polymerase and
polyermase chain reaction (PCR).
A strain of ''A. acidocaldarius'' has been isolated from thermally heated soils of Mount Rittmann in Antarctica.
''Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius'' was among the first three species reclassified from the genus ''
Bacillus'' to the newly created ''Alicyclobacillus'' in 1992, along with ''
A. acidoterrestris'' and ''
A. cycloheptanicus''.
The optimum growth temperature for ''A. acidocaldarius'' is 60-65 °C, and can grow in the 45-70 °C range. The optimum
pH is 3.0-4.0, and can grow in pH 2.0-6.0.
References
Gram-positive bacteria
Bacteria described in 1992
Bacillales
{{bacilli-stub