Coleofasciculus chthonoplastes

Classification

Higher order taxa

• Domain: Bacteria
  • Kingdom: Eubacteria
    • Subkingdom: Negibactria
      • Phylum: Cyanobacteria
        • Class: Cyanophyceae
          • Order: Coleofasciculales
            • Family: Coleofasciculaceae

Species

Coleofasciculus chthonoplastes is a species of cyanobacteria that belongs to the family Coleofasciculaceae. This species is a homotypic synonym with Microcoleus cthonoplastes and heterotypic synonyms include Conferva cthonoplastes, Gloionema cthonoplastes, and Vaginaria cthonoplastes (Siegesmund et al., 2008; Molinari Novoa & Guiry, 2022).

Description and significance

This bacterium is of particular interest to scientists because of its unique ability to produce electricity through a process called extracellular electron transfer (Lea-Smith et al., 2016). This bacterium is capable of transferring electrons outside of its cell membrane, which allows it to generate an electrical current. This process, known as extracellular electron transfer, is mediated by a unique structure called a nanowire. The nanowires of C. chthonoplastes are made up of a protein called pilin, which are similar to the protein that makes up the pili of other bacteria (Reguera et al., 2005). The ability of C. chthonoplastes to produce electricity has potential applications in a variety of fields, including bioremediation and bioenergy production. In bioremediation, C. chthonoplastes could be used to clean up contaminated marine sediments by using the electrical current it produces to break down pollutants, and in bioenergy production, C. chthonoplastes could be used to generate electricity in microbial fuel cells (Lea-Smith et al., 2016).

Ecology

It is an obligate anaerobe, which means that it requires an oxygen-free environment to grow and thrive. C. cthonoplstes is capable of surviving in a wide range of salt concentrations that can exceed 20% (Oren, 2015). This bacterium is commonly found in marine sediments, where it lives in close association with other microorganisms. In addition to its unique electrical properties, C. chthonoplastes is also interesting because of its symbiotic relationships with other microorganisms (Stal et al., 2019). This bacterium is often found living in close association with sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, which use the electrons produced by C. chthonoplastes to carry out their own metabolic processes (Stal et al., 2019). This type of mutually beneficial relationship, known as syntrophy, is common in microbial communities.