Sulfurisphaera
From MicrobeWiki, the student-edited microbiology resource
A Microbial Biorealm page on the genus Sulfurisphaera
Contents |
Classification
Higher order taxa
Archaea; Crenarchaeota; Thermoprotei; Sulfolobales; Sulfolobaceae
Species
Sulfurisphaera ohwakuensis
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NCBI: Taxonomy Genome |
Description and significance
Sulfurisphaera is facultatively anaerobic, thermophilic, Gram-negative archaeon that occur in acidic solfataric fields. The organism grows under the temperature range of 63-92°C with the optimum temperature at 84°C, and under the pH range of pH 1.0 and 5.0 (optimum = pH 2.0). It forms colonies that are smooth, roundly convex, and slightly yellow.
Genome structure
The genome of Sulfurisphaera is yet to be sequenced. The G + C content is estimated to be 30-33%.
Cell structure and metabolism
The spherical cells of Sulfurisphaera ohwakuensis are 1.2-1.5µm in diameter. Thin sections of the organism reveal an envelope (approx. 24nm) surrounding the cell membrane. It grows organotrophically on proteinaceous, complex substrates such as yeast extract, peptone, and tryptone. Grow was not observed on single sugars or amino acids such as D-glucose, D-galactose, D-fructose, D-xylose, lactose, maltose, sucrose, alanine, glutamate, glycine, and histidine.
Ecology
The strains of Sulfurisphaera phwakuensis were isolated from multiple locations in the acidic hot springs in Ohwaku Valley, Hakone, Japan.
