''Balnearium lithotrophicum'' is a species 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 amon ...

described in 2003 and classified as belonging to the

Aquificota The ''Aquificota'' phylum is a diverse collection of bacteria that live in harsh environmental settings. The name ''Aquificota'' was given to this phylum based on an early genus identified within this group, '' Aquifex'' (“water maker”), whic ...

Location

''Balnearium lithotrophicum'' was recently found in the Suiyo Seamount and isolated as its own species. Suiyo Seamount is found off the east coast of Japan in an underwater volcano. This underwater volcano vent release gases and heat into the deep ocean at 1,418 m deep. These vents create new ecosystems where little other life live. There are many microbes that thrive in these extreme conditions known as

thermophile A thermophile is an organism—a type of extremophile—that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between . Many thermophiles are archaea, though they can be bacteria or fungi. Thermophilic eubacteria are suggested to have been among the earl ...

s. The ''Balnearium lithotrophicum'' lives near the vent but not directly on it. At the source of the vent temperatures can be up to 290 °C but where the ''Balnearium lithotrophicum'' thrives, temperatures are around 70–75 °C. This classifies Balnearium lithotrophicum as a thermophile because it thrives in relatively extreme heat and pressure conditions.

Environment

At this depth, there is no light and little oxygen, so ''Balnearium lithotrophicum'' is an

obligate anaerobe Obligate anaerobes are microorganisms killed by normal atmospheric concentrations of oxygen (20.95% O2). Oxygen tolerance varies between species, with some species capable of surviving in up to 8% oxygen, while others lose viability in environme ...

bacterium. An obligate anaerobe is a bacterium that cannot survive in the presence of

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...

that is found in the atmosphere. ''Balnearium lithotrophicum'' is identified as a chemolithoautotroph, “eater of rock”, that reduces strictly inorganic compounds in order to survive. It gets its energy from metabolizing hydrogen from the black smoker chimney. The carbon source it uses to survive comes from the carbon dioxide in the water. Balnearium lithotrophicum can live in a pH between 5.0 and 7.0 but prefers 5.4. In addition, for growth the NaCl amount in the water should be between 0.8 and 5.6 percent. Ammonium is the main nitrogen source of ''Balnearium lithotrophicum''. The genomic DNA had 34.6 mol% of C+G bases.

Classification

The appearance of the ''Balnearium lithotrophicum'' is a short rod that is narrower in the middle. These organisms have been known to exist in this submarine ecosystem; however, ''Balnearium lithotrophicum'' was only recently separated from similar extremophiles. The close relatives it was divided from include '' Thermovibrio ruber'' and '' Desulfurobacterium thermolithotrophum''. They share many features but were separated based on certain physiological characteristics that Balnearium lithotrophicum maintains.

References

External links

Type strain of ''Balnearium lithotrophicum'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
{{Taxonbar, from=Q17152989 Thermophiles Aquificota Bacteria described in 2003