''Methylosphaera hansonii'', also called Antarctic budding methanotroph AM6, is a species of

psychrophilic Psychrophiles or cryophiles (adj. ''psychrophilic'' or ''cryophilic'') are extremophilic organisms that are capable of growth and reproduction in low temperatures, ranging from to . They have an optimal growth temperature at . They are found in ...

, group I

methanotroph Methanotrophs (sometimes called methanophiles) are prokaryotes that metabolize methane as their source of carbon and chemical energy. They are bacteria or archaea, can grow aerobically or anaerobically, and require single-carbon compounds to s ...

s, named after microbiologist Richard S. Hanson. It is

non-motile Sessility is the biological property of an organism describing its lack of a means of self-locomotion. Sessile organisms for which natural ''motility'' is absent are normally immobile. This is distinct from the botanical concept of sessility, ...

, coccoidal in morphology, does not form resting cells, reproduces by constriction, and requires

seawater Seawater, or salt water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has appr ...

for growth. Its type strain is ACAM 549. The cells are round and 1.5–2.0 μm in diameter. They are

Gram-negative Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wa ...

, non-motile, and strictly

aerobic Aerobic means "requiring air," in which "air" usually means oxygen. Aerobic may also refer to * Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity * Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise * Aerobic respiration, the aerobic process of cel ...

. They use

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Ea ...

and methanol as substrates to produce energy, and they can fix atmospheric nitrogen.

Nomenclature

The name has French and Greek roots. ''Methyl'' for its

methyl group In organic chemistry, a methyl group is an alkyl derived from methane, containing one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms, having chemical formula . In formulas, the group is often abbreviated as Me. This hydrocarbon group occurs in ma ...

and ''sphaera'' for sphere. Overall the name means "methyl sphere."

References

External links

''Methylosphaera'' at LPSN
Gammaproteobacteria Psychrophiles Bacteria described in 1997 {{Gammaproteobacteria-stub

Nomenclature

References

Further reading

External links