''Dictyoglomus'' is a genus of
bacterium
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
,
given its own Phylum, called the Dictyoglomi.
This organism is extremely ''
thermophilic'', meaning it thrives at extremely high temperatures. It is ''chemoorganotrophic'', meaning it derives energy by metabolizing organic molecules. This organism is of interest because it elaborates an enzyme,
xylanase
Endo-1,4-β-xylanase (EC 3.2.1.8, systematic name 4-β-D-xylan xylanohydrolase) is any of a class of enzymes that degrade the linear polysaccharide xylan into xylose, thus breaking down hemicellulose, one of the major components of plant cell w ...
, which digests xylan, a heteropolymer of the pentose sugar
xylose
Xylose ( grc, ξύλον, , "wood") is a sugar first isolated from wood, and named for it. Xylose is classified as a monosaccharide of the aldopentose type, which means that it contains five carbon atoms and includes an aldehyde functional gro ...
. By pretreating wood pulp with this enzyme,
paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...
manufacturers can achieve comparable levels of whiteness with much less
chlorine
Chlorine is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate betwee ...
bleach.
It has been described as
Gram-negative
Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wall ...
, with a triple-layered wall.
References
Further reading
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External links
Type strain of ''Dictyoglomus thermophilum'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Gram-negative bacteria
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