Galdieria sulphuraria

From MicrobeWiki, the student-edited microbiology resource
Image of Galdiera sulphuraria courtesy of National Geographic.


Classification

Domain: Eukaryota; Class: Rhodophyta; Family: Cyanidiaceae; Genus: Galdieria

Phylogeny of ATPases in G. sulphuria Gerald Schönknecht et al. [Science 339, 1207 (2013).]

Species

Species: Galdiera sulphuraria

Description and Significance

Galdieria sulphuraria is a eukaryotic, spore-forming, coccus. G. sulphuraria appears yellow-green to dark blue-green grown heterotrophically in liquid culture, and often yellow or green in its natural environment. It is an acidophile, as well a thermophile, and inhabits highly acidic springs at high temperatures.

G. sulphuraria is a mixotrophic organism capable of both photosynthesis and the catabolism of a wide variety of metabolites.

Genome Structure

As a bona fide eukaryote, the Galdieria genome encodes all principle components of eukaryotic cells, in particular those of mitochondria, the endomembrane system, and plastids [Vanselow et al.]

Cell Structure, Metabolism and Life Cycle

Ecology

Image of Galdieria sulphuraria in Reykjavik http://www.nationalgeographic.com National Geographic.


References

Author