''Sporosarcina aquimarina'' is a

rod-shaped A bacillus (), also called a bacilliform bacterium or often just a rod (when the context makes the sense clear), is a rod-shaped bacterium or archaeon. Bacilli are found in many different taxonomic groups of bacteria. However, the name ''Bacillu ...

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 ...

of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Sporosarcina ''Sporosarcina'' is a genus of bacteria. Specification The cells of the species of ''Sporosarcina'' are either rod-shaped or coccoid. ''Sporosarcina'' forms endospores. The majority species of ''Sporosarcina'' is moveable (motile). Metaboli ...

''.

Characteristics

Cells of ''Sporosarcina aquimarina'' are 0.9–1.2 μm x 2.0–3.5 μm. It is motile by means of a single polar

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 ...

. The bacterium forms

endospore An endospore is a dormant, tough, and non-reproductive structure produced by some bacteria in the phylum Bacillota. The name "endospore" is suggestive of a spore or seed-like form (''endo'' means 'within'), but it is not a true spore (i.e., no ...

s (like all

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of the genus).

Metabolism

''Sporosarcina aquimarina'' is

heterotroph A heterotroph (; ) is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but ...

ic, as it does not perform

photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored i ...

. It is

facultative anaerobe A facultative anaerobic organism is an organism that makes ATP by aerobic respiration if oxygen is present, but is capable of switching to fermentation if oxygen is absent. Some examples of facultatively anaerobic bacteria are ''Staphylococcus' ...

. If oxygen is present the

metabolism Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...

is due to

cellular respiration Cellular respiration is the process by which biological fuels are oxidised in the presence of an inorganic electron acceptor such as oxygen to produce large amounts of energy, to drive the bulk production of ATP. Cellular respiration may be des ...

, but it can also grow anaerobic if oxygen is absent. The species is

halophilic The halophiles, named after the Greek word for "salt-loving", are extremophiles that thrive in high salt concentrations. While most halophiles are classified into the domain Archaea, there are also bacterial halophiles and some eukaryotic species, ...

. 13% NaCl are still tolerated. ''Sporosarcina aquimarina'' is one of the bacteria that can make use of

urea Urea, also known as carbamide, is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid. Urea serves an important r ...

with the enzyme

urease Ureases (), functionally, belong to the superfamily of amidohydrolases and phosphotriesterases. Ureases are found in numerous bacteria, fungi, algae, plants, and some invertebrates, as well as in soils, as a soil enzyme. They are nickel-containin ...

. Others bacteria of the same genus which possess the enzyme urease are for example '' S. ureaea'' und '' S. pasteurii''.

Etymology

The genus name derives from the Greek word ''spora'' ("spore") and the Latin word ''sarcina'' ("package", "bundle") and refers to the fact that it forms

s and the typical arrangement of the

cells Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery w ...

. The species name ''S. aquimarina'' derives from the fact that it was found in sea water.

Systematics

The species ''Sporosarcina aquimarina'' belongs to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Planococcaceae The ''Caryophanaceae'' is a family of Gram-positive bacteria. In 2020, the now defunct family '' Planococcaceae'' was merged into ''Caryophanaceae'' to rectify a nomenclature anomaly. The type genus of this family is ''Caryophanon.'' The family ...

of the Bacillota.J.P. Euzéby: List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN)
/ref>

References

External links

Type strain of ''Sporosarcina aquimarina'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15694619 Bacillales Gram-positive bacteria Bacteria described in 1984