''Thermococcus peptonophilus'' is a fast-growing
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 ...
archaeon
Archaea ( ; singular archaeon ) is a domain of single-celled organisms. These microorganisms lack cell nuclei and are therefore prokaryotes. Archaea were initially classified as bacteria, receiving the name archaebacteria (in the Archaebact ...
. It is coccus-shaped, obligately anaerobic and about 0.7–2
μm
The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...
in diameter.
It is a strict
anaerobe
An anaerobic organism or anaerobe is any organism that does not require molecular oxygen for growth. It may react negatively or even die if free oxygen is present. In contrast, an aerobic organism (aerobe) is an organism that requires an oxygenate ...
and grows exclusively on complex substrates, such as
peptone
Peptides (, ) are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Long chains of amino acids are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides.
A p ...
,
casein
Casein ( , from Latin ''caseus'' "cheese") is a family of related phosphoproteins (CSN1S1, αS1, aS2, CSN2, β, K-casein, κ) that are commonly found in mammalian milk, comprising about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of ...
, tryptone, and
yeast extract
Yeast extracts consist of the cell contents of yeast without the cell walls; they are used as food additives or flavorings, or as nutrients for bacterial culture media. They are often used to create savory flavors and umami taste sensations, a ...
. It cannot use
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...
as a source of carbon. Although it can grow somewhat in the absence of elemental
sulfur
Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
, it prefers sulfur.
References
Further reading
*Canganella, Francesco, et al. "Pressure and temperature effects on growth and viability of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus peptonophilus."Archives of Microbiology 168.1 (1997): 1-7.
*Horikoshi, Koki. "Alkaliphiles: some applications of their products for biotechnology." Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews 63.4 (1999): 735–750.
*Dworkin, Martin, and Stanley Falkow, eds. The Prokaryotes: Vol. 3: Archaea. Bacteria: Firmicutes, Actinomycetes. Vol. 3. Springer, 2006. *Martí, Joan, and Gerald Ernst, eds. Volcanoes and the Environment. Cambridge University Press, 2005.
*Horikoshi, Koki, and Kaoru Tsujii, eds. Extremophiles in deep-sea environments. Springer, 1999.
External links
*
LPSNWORMSType strain of ''Thermococcus peptonophilus'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Thermophiles
Euryarchaeota
{{Euryarchaeota-stub