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...

, Sulfurisphaera is a genus of the Sulfolobaceae

Sulfolobaceae

In taxonomy, the Sulfolobaceae are a family of the Sulfolobales.-External links:...

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Description and significance

Sulfurisphaera is facultatively anaerobic, thermophilic, Gram-negative archaeon that occur in acidic solfataric fields. The organism grows under the temperature range of 63-92°C with the optimum temperature at 84°C, and under the pH range of pH 1.0 and 5.0 (optimum = pH 2.0). It forms colonies that are smooth, roundly convex, and slightly yellow.

Genome structure

The genome of Sulfurisphaera is yet to be sequenced. The G + C content is estimated to be 30-33%.

Cell structure and metabolism

The spherical cells of Sulfurisphaera ohwakuensis are 1.2-1.5µm in diameter. Thin sections of the organism reveal an envelope (approx. 24nm) surrounding the cell membrane. It grows organotrophically on proteinaceous, complex substrates such as yeast extract, peptone, and tryptone. Grow was not observed on single sugars or amino acids such as D-glucose, D-galactose, D-fructose, D-xylose, lactose, maltose, sucrose, alanine, glutamate, glycine, and histidine.

Ecology

The strains of Sulfurisphaera ohwakuensis were isolated from multiple locations in the acidic hot springs in Ohwaku Valley, Hakone, Japan.

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