Meiothermus

''Meiothermus'' is a genus of ''Deinococcota'' bacteria.
Members of ''Meiothermus'' can be reliably distinguished from other genera in the family ''Thermaceae'' as well as all other bacteria by the presence of three conserved signature indels (CSIs) found in the proteins: 5-methyltetrahydrofolate–homocysteine methyltransferase, cadmium transporter and polynucleotide phosphorylase and are exclusively shared by species of this genus. ''Meiothermus'' is also different than the ''Thermus'' genus, which it was originally a member of, in their optimum growth temperatures, with ''Meiothermus'' being able to grow in colder environments. ''Meiothermus'' was first isolated with ''Thermus'' in alkaline and neutral hot springs in Kamchatka, Russia and Yellowstone National Park, USA.

Characteristics

''Meiothermus'' species of bacteria are gram-negative and are primarily chemoorganoheterotrophs, but some species can use nitrate as an electron acceptor. The ''Meiothermus'' genus was originally proposed to group together several moderately thermophilic organisms that were in the ''Thermus'' genus. It was later differentiated and made its own genus. ''Meiothermus'' are mostly distinguishable from ''Thermus'' by the lower bound of their optimum growth temperatures, 50-60°C for ''Meiothermus'' and 70°C for ''Thermus.'' Also, in ''Meiothermus,'' the presence of two glycolipid bands is seen whereas ''Thermus'' species only contain one. ''Thermus'' also contains eight conserved signature indels (CSIs) compared to the three that ''Meiothermus'' has. The optimal pH range for ''Meiothermus'' growth is in the range of 7.5-9.5. ''Meiothermus'' is a genus of bacteria that can only exist in aerobic environments. Most ''Meiothermus'' species have a red pigmentation with the exception of ''M. chilarophilus'' which has a yellow color. Some ''Meiothermus'' species can also form biofilms and stick to surfaces using specific adhesion organelles.

Habitats

''Meiothermus'' is a thermophilic genus of bacteria.Thermophiles are strains of bacteria that exist in environments that range from 45°C to around 80°C. ''Meiothermus'' in particular is best suited to ranges of 50-60°C. ''Meiothermus'' is a strictly aerobic bacteria, needing oxygen for many of its processes.Mark D. Spanevello, Bharat K.C. Patel, The phylogenetic diversity of ''Thermus'' and ''Meiothermus'' from microbial mats of an Australian subsurface aquifer runoff channel, ''FEMS Microbiology Ecology'', Volume 50, Issue 1, October 2004, Pages 63–73, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.femsec.2004.05.008

Metabolism

Some species of ''Meiothermus'' have the ability to break down keratin at much a rate much higher than natural rates. These keratinolytic processes performed by ''Meiothermus'' species like the common ''M. ruber'' lead to production of amino acids that can be used by the environment. ''Meiothermus'' can use other organic substrates like starch, disaccharides, amino acids and others as a carbon and energy source.

Phylogeny

The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the ''List of Pro''karyotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LSPN) and the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

Unassigned species:
* ''Meiothermus rosaceus'' Chen et al. 2002

See also

* List of bacteria genera
* List of bacterial orders

References

Deinococcota
Gram-negative bacteria
Bacteria genera

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