Pyrobaculum islandicum

A Microbial Biorealm page on the genus Pyrobaculum islandicum

Classification

Higher order taxa

Domain: Archaea

Phylum: Crenarchaeota

Class: Thermoprotei

Order: Thermoproteales

Family: Thermoproteaceae

Genus: Pyrobaculum

Species

NCBI: Taxonomy

Pyrobaculum islandicum

Description and significance

Pyrobaculum islandicum (DSM 4184) is a rod-shaped hyperthermophilic neutrophilic archaebacteria which was first obtained from boiling sulfataric and geothermal waters in Iceland. The latin root of the name "Pyrobaculum" literally means "firestick", where the syllable "pyro" serves to denote the organism's ability to grow at temperatures above 100°C. The species name "islandicum" denotes Icelandic in relevance to its origin of isolation. [1]

Appearance:

Pyrobaculum islandicum are a gram-negative rod-shaped organism with almost rectangular ends. Cells are usually about 2.5 μm long and exhibit bipolar polytrichous flagellation, each flagellum up to 15 μm long and about 13 nm in width. They occur singly and in V-, X-, and raft-shaped aggregates. They can sometimes be seen with terminal spheres (commonly referred to as "golf-club" structures), which appear during its exponential growth phase. No septa formation has yet been observed during cell division. Pb. islandicum colonies are grey or greenish-black in color. [1]

Habitat/Biotope:

Pyrobaculum islandicum belongs to a family of hyperthermophilic archaebacteria found in continental solfataric springs. Before their discovery, hyperthermophilic bacteria growing at 100°C and above had been isolated exclusively from submarine hydrothermal systems. The surface layer of the solfataras, typically 30 cm thick, is usually rich in sulfate and is relatively acidic (pH 0.5-6). Ferric ion compounds cause a rusty appearance. As you go deeper, the solfataras are usually less acidic and can even be neutral (pH 5-7). Depending on the altitude above sea level, the temperatures can be as high as 100°C. Man-made hot environments can also sometimes serve as suitable environments for hyperthermophiles, such as the boiling outflows of geothermal power plants. Due to the low solubility of oxygen at high temperatures and the presence of reducing gases, most biotopes of hyperthermophiles are anaerobic. [1][3][4]

When the new genus "Pyrobaculum" was first isolated, samples were obtained from an outflow of superheated water of an overpressure valve at the Kafla geothermal power plant and from the Hveragerthi solfatara field (both of which are in Iceland), from the Ribeira Quente solfataras in Azores, and Pisciarelli Solfatara in Italy. The superheated or almost boiling anaerobic solfataric waters from which the organisms were isolated were neutral to slightly alkaline (pH 5-7). Pb. islandicum's low salt tolerance makes them well adapted to the low salt content of the solfataric springs (0-0.5% NaCl), and appears to explain why they are unable to grow within the salty ocean waters of submarine hydrothermal systems. [1]

Significance

Pyrobaculum islandicum is a hyperthermophile that belongs to the third domain of life Archaea, which, from an evolutionary standpoint, may be the most slowly evolving or primitive groups of microorganisms yet discovered. Hyperthermophiles may provide significant insights into the physiological properties of the earliest microorganisms because hyperthermophiles are the only living organisms so closely related to the last common ancestors of modern life. Pyrobactum islandicum's ability to reduce Fe(III) has already led to the suggestion that early microorganisms had the capacity for Fe(III) reduction as well, which coincides with geochemical evidence that pre-biotic Earth was conducive for Fe(III) reduction as one of the earliest means of microbial respiration. [5]

Genome structure

Only the genome of one closely related species to Pyrobaculum islandicum, Pyrobaculum aerophiluim, has been sequenced thus far. It has a circular genome sequence 2,222,430 base pairs in length and contains 2605 protein-encoding sequences. The following is a brief description of known sequenced genes from this species that have significance pertaining to most of the phylum Crenarchae and some of the genus Pyrobaculum:

Replication and Repair

The two major mechanisms for avoiding mutations during DNA replication are immediate editing of the growing strand by the DNA polymerase and detection and correction of mismatches soon after replication by the mismatch repair system. High-temperature archaea such as P. aerophilum are an example of organisms that can survive as permanent mutators, which means they are deficient in mismatch repair. This lack of a mismatch repair system is advantageous under certain selective conditions and is a way of generating diversity and responding to ever-changing environments. [6]

DNA Polymerase

Family B polymerases have been found in all archaea. They seem to have multiple family B polymerases that may all play a role at the replication fork. The P. aerophilum genome sequence codes for three family B DNA polymerases, one of each of the B1, B2, and B3 subfamilies. The P. aerophilum B3 DNA polymerase shares 78% amino acid identity to the DNA polymerase of closely related Pyrobaculum islandicum. This enzyme has a 3' to 5' exonuclease activity and, under stable assay conditions for PCR, was shown to amplify DNA fragments of up to 1,500 bp long. Other replication factor homologs detected in the genome were: two copies of the sliding clamp processivity factor, one large subunit, and two copies of the small subunit of the clamp loading protein (replication factor C), DNA ligase, minichromosome maintenance protein, and a possible origin recognition protein (orc/cdc6). [6]

Cell Division

No homologs of FtsZ have been found within the crenarchaea. A type of "snapping division" may be an example of a crenarchaeal FtsZ independent mechanism. [6]

Cell structure and metabolism

Describe any interesting features and/or cell structures; how it gains energy; what important molecules it produces.

Cell Structure

Pyrobaculum islandicum, as stated previously, are rod-shaped with polytrichous flagellation located on each pole of the organism. The cells are usually 2.5 μm long, while each flagellum are up to 15 μm long and about 13 nm in width. As with most archaebacteria, they lack a murein cell wall and instead have a protein cell envelope. In addition, they have isopranyl ether lipids, and the existence of an ADP-ribosylable elongation factor G. [1]

Pyrobaculum islandicum also has the enzyme glutamate dehydrogenase (GluDH), which is a hyperthermostable NAD-dependent GluDH. This enzyme plays a major function as an adaptive mechanism that allows the organim's metabolism to function and the biomolecules, such as proteins, enzymes, and DNA to remain intact even at extremely high temperatures. GluDH is not inactivated by incubation at 100°C, and is highly resistant to denaturants, organic solvents, and detergents, such as guanidine, hydrochloride, urea, ethanol, methanol, DMF, and DOC, at 50°C. [2]

Metabolism

Pyrobaculum islandicum is a strict anaerobe, that grows optimally at 100°C, at which its population will double every 280 minutes (in closed culture vessels). Within its superheated biotope, it may act as a primary producer of organic matter during chemolithoautotrophic growth on S⁰, CO₂ , and H₂. It is also facultatively organotrophic. In the presence of organic material, it is able to also use other S-compounds like thiosulfate and sulfate present in geothermal waters. During organotrophic growth, S⁰, thiosulfate, sulfite, L(-)-cystine and oxidized glutathione serve as electron acceptors. [1]

All hyperthermophiles that have been studied have a constitutive ability to reduce Fe(III). Pyrobaculum islandicum can reduce Fe(III) oxide to Fe(II), as well as reduce a variety of other metals. P. islandicum and P. aerophilum are the only Archaea that have been shown to conserve energy to support growth from dissimilatory Fe(III) reduction. With hydrogen as the electron donor and Fe(III) citrate as the electron acceptor, an increase in cell numbers was reported 10-fold higher. In contrast with P. islandicum's ability to grow autotrophically with hydrogen and S⁰ as the electron acceptor, it has not been found to be capable of autotrophic growth with hydrogen and Fe(III) - small amounts of yeast extract are still required for growth during laboratory studies. [5]

Ecology

Describe any interactions with other organisms (included eukaryotes), contributions to the environment, effect on environment, etc.

Pathology

How does this organism cause disease? Human, animal, plant hosts? Virulence factors, as well as patient symptoms.

Application to Biotechnology

Does this organism produce any useful compounds or enzymes? What are they and how are they used?

GluDH

The NAD-dependent GluDH produced by Pb. islandicum may be expected to be more preferable for application than the NADP-dependent enzyme, because NAD and NADH are much cheaper than NADP and NADPH, respectively. Also, the enzyme's hyperthermostability and resistance to denaturants suggests that it may be preferred in applications as a reagent for biosensor and bioreactor processes under some special conditions. [2]

Current Research

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References

[Sample reference] Takai, K., Sugai, A., Itoh, T., and Horikoshi, K. "Palaeococcus ferrophilus gen. nov., sp. nov., a barophilic, hyperthermophilic archaeon from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 2000. Volume 50. p. 489-500.

Edited by student of Rachel Larsen