In taxonomy

Alpha taxonomy

Alpha taxonomy is the discipline concerned with finding, describing and naming species of living or fossil organisms. This field is supported by institutions holding collections of these organisms, with relevant data, carefully curated: such institutes include natural history museums, herbaria and...

, Natronococcus is a genus of the Halobacteriaceae

Halobacteriaceae

In taxonomy, the Halobacteriaceae are a family of the Halobacteriales in the domain Archaea.- Overview :Halobacteriaceae are found in water saturated or nearly saturated with salt. They are also called halophiles, though this name is also used for other organisms which live in somewhat less...

.

Description and significance

This haloalkaliphilic archaeon is in the same family as microorganisms like Halobacterium

Halobacterium

In taxonomy, Halobacterium is a genus of the Halobacteriaceae.The genus Halobacterium consists of several species of archaea with an aerobic metabolism which require an environment with a high concentration of salt; many of their proteins will not function in low-salt environments. They grow on...

. Study of Natronococcus continues to explore what enzymes are present in order to survive in these conditions, especially since there has not been much literature about enzymes of haloalkaliphiles.

Genome structure

The G + C content for the major chromosome is 64.0% while the minor component has a 55.7% content. The approximate size of the plasmid

Plasmid

In microbiology and genetics, a plasmid is a DNA molecule that is separate from, and can replicate independently of, the chromosomal DNA. They are double-stranded and, in many cases, circular...

 is 144 kbp.

Cell structure and metabolism

Natronococcus is a heterotrophic, aerobic

Aerobic

Aerobic is a word that means "requiring air", where "air" usually means oxygen.Aerobic may also refer to:* Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity* Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise...

 organism that can use sugars as a nitrogen source to stimulate growth. Specifically it can fix nitrogen from casamino acids

Casamino acids

Casamino acids is a mixture of amino acids and some very small peptides obtained from acid hydrolysis of casein It is typically used in microbial growth media...

, glucose

Glucose

Glucose is a simple sugar and an important carbohydrate in biology. Cells use it as the primary source of energy and a metabolic intermediate...

, ribose

Ribose

Ribose is an organic compound with the formula C5H10O5; specifically, a monosaccharide with linear form H––4–H, which has all the hydroxyl groups on the same side in the Fischer projection....

, and sucrose

Sucrose

Sucrose is the organic compound commonly known as table sugar and sometimes called saccharose. A white, odorless, crystalline powder with a sweet taste, it is best known for its role in human nutrition. The molecule is a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose with the molecular formula...

 and reduces nitrates to nitrites.

Cells are non-motile and occur in irregular clusters, pairs, and single cells. The cell is coccoid in shape and 1-2 micrometres in diameter. colonies are pale brown and circular.

Ecology

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

N occultus has been isolated from the soda lake Lake Magadi

Lake Magadi

Lake Magadi is the southernmost lake in the Kenya Rift Valley, lying in a catchment of faulted volcanic rocks, north of Tanzania's Lake Natron. During the dry season, it is 80% covered by soda and is well known for its wading birds, including flamingos....

. This halophilic archaeon is partial to environments with 8-30% NaCl with optimum growth at 22%. It also grows in a pH

PH

In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...

range of 8.5-11 (optimum at 9.5) and a temperature range of 20-50 °C (optimum at 40 °C).

External links