''Geoglobus'' is a

hyperthermophilic A hyperthermophile is an organism that thrives in extremely hot environments—from 60 °C (140 °F) upwards. An optimal temperature for the existence of hyperthermophiles is often above 80 °C (176 °F). Hyperthermophiles are often within the doma ...

member of the

Archaeoglobaceae Archaeoglobaceae are a family of the Archaeoglobales. All known genera within the Archaeoglobaceae are hyperthermophilic and can be found near undersea hydrothermal vents. Archaeoglobaceae are the only family in the order ''Archaeoglobales'', w ...

within the

Euryarchaeota Euryarchaeota (from Ancient Greek ''εὐρύς'' eurús, "broad, wide") is a phylum of archaea. Euryarchaeota are highly diverse and include methanogens, which produce methane and are often found in intestines, halobacteria, which survive extre ...

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

Guaymas Basin The Guaymas Basin is a marginal rift basin, the largest such basin in the Gulf of California. It consists of two axial troughs (northern and southern). The basin results from the activity of one of the several spreading centers in the Gulf. The ...

hydrothermal system located deep within the

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

. As a

hyperthermophile A hyperthermophile is an organism that thrives in extremely hot environments—from 60 °C (140 °F) upwards. An optimal temperature for the existence of hyperthermophiles is often above 80 °C (176 °F). Hyperthermophiles are often within the doma ...

, 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 monomolecular layer composed of only one (or, in a few cases, two) ...

cell wall and a single

flagellum A flagellum (; ) is a hairlike appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many protists with flagella are termed as flagellates. A microorganism may have f ...

. ''G. ahangari'' is an anaerobe, using poorly soluble

ferric iron In chemistry, iron(III) refers to the element iron in its +3 oxidation state. In ionic compounds (salts), such an atom may occur as a separate cation (positive ion) denoted by Fe3+. The adjective ferric or the prefix ferri- is often used to s ...

(Fe³⁺) as a

terminal electron acceptor An electron acceptor is a chemical entity that accepts electrons transferred to it from another compound. It is an oxidizing agent that, by virtue of its accepting electrons, is itself reduced in the process. Electron acceptors are sometimes mista ...

. It can grow either

autotrophic An autotroph or primary producer is an organism that produces complex organic compounds (such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) using carbon from simple substances such as carbon dioxide,Morris, J. et al. (2019). "Biology: How Life Works", ...

ally using

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

gas (H₂) or heterotrophically using a large number of

organic compound In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. The ...

s, including several types of

fatty acid In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, ...

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

Scientific databases

External links