Thermofilum pendens

A Microbial Biorealm page on the genus Thermofilum pendens

Classification

Higher order taxa

Archaea; Crenarchaeota; Thermoprotei; Thermoproteales; Thermofilaceae [Others may be used. Use NCBI link to find]

Species

NCBI: Taxonomy

Thermofilum pendens, Thermofilum pendens Hrk 5

Description and significance

Thermofilum pendens was first isolated from a solfataric hot spring in Iceland in the early 1980s (1). Since its discovery, T. pendens have also been isolated in solfatara environments, such as Yellowstone National Park (U.S.) and Vulcano Island (Italy). Thus, this archeabacteria can sustain life in a hot and slightly acidic environment making it a hyperthermophile and acidophile, or a thermoacidophile (2). Its optimum growth conditions are 85-90 degree C with a pH of 5-6 and 0.1 – 2% salinity (3, 7). However, it has been found in sites with temperature ranging from 67 -93 degree C and pH ranging from 2.8 - 7.6 (9). Being an archea, T. pendens has the ability to provide heat resistance enzymes which can be applied in biotechnology.

Furthermore, T. pendens is important to the evolutionary process because it the deepest branching lineage to the Eukaryote domain (6). According to a parsimonious phylogenetic tree for 16S rRNA, T. pendens is the out-group of the Crenarchaeota making it the closest evolutionary branch to the Eurakyota domain (7,9). Hence, newly sequenced organisms are compared to T. pendens’ genomes.

Genome structure

Thermofilum pendens has a circular chromosome with 1,781,889 base pairs. Out of the 1.8 Mbp, 57.67 % is G+C content, which is equivalent to 1,027,615 base pairs. It has 1,879 genes in the chromosome and 1,824 genes are protein coding and 40 are structural RNA. It also has one sequenced plasmid with 31,504 base pairs; of which 56.5% is GC content (2).

Cell structure and metabolism

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

Ecology

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

Pathology

Currently, this organism is not pathogenic.

Application to Biotechnology

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

Current Research

Enter summaries of the most recent research here--at least three required

References

1) Richardson P., Anderson I., Woese C., Olsen G., Reich C. “Thermofilum pendens Hrk 5: finished genome”. JGI (Joint Genome Institute). <http://genome.jgi-psf.org/finished_microbes/thepe/thepe.home.html>.

2) NCBI. “Thermofilum pendens Hrk 5 project at DOE Joint Genome Institute”. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=genomeprj&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Overview&list_uids=16331>.

3) Lowe S., Jain M., Zeikus G., “Biology, Ecology, and Biotechnological Applications of Anaerobic Bacteria Adapted to Environmental Stresses in Temperature, pH, Salinity, or Substrates”. American Society for Microbiology – Microbiological Reviews. June, 1993. p. 451-509.

4) Rosa M., Gambacorta A., Gliozzi A. “Structure, Biosynthesis, and Physicochemical Properties of Archaebacterial Lipids”. American Society for Microbiology – Microbiological Reviews. March 1986. p. 70-80.

5) Kjems, J., Leffers H., Olesen T., Garrett R. “A Unique tRNA Intron in the Variable Loop of the Extreme Thermophile Thermofilum pendens and Its Possible Evolutionary Implications”. The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology – The Journal of Biological Chemistry. October 25, 1989.

6) Gao B., Gupta R. “Phylogenomic analysis of proteins that are distinctive of Archaea and its main subgroups and the origin of methanogenesis”. Biomed Central Genomics. 29 March 2007.

7) Huber, Harald. “Crenarchaeota”. Wiley InterScience – Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. April 24, 2006. < http://mrw.interscience.wiley.com/emrw/9780470015902/els/article/a0000453/current/pdf>.

8) Burggraf S., Huber H. Stetter K. O. “Reclassification of the Crenarchaeal Orders and Families in Accordance with 16S rRNA Sequence Data. Internation Journal of Systematic Bacteriology. July 1997. p. 657 -660. < http://ijs.sgmjournals.org/cgi/reprint/47/3/657.pdf>.

9) Rogers K., Amend J. “Archaeal diversity and geochemical energy yields in a geothermal well on Vulcano Island, Italy. Geobiology. December 2005. p. 319-332. < http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1472-4669.2006.00064.x?cookieSet=1>.

Edited by Quan Pham student of Rachel Larsen