''Dictyoglomus'' is a genus of
bacterium,
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 manufacturers can achieve comparable levels of whiteness with much less
chlorine bleach.
It has been described as
Gram-negative, 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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