Couple of • Methanogens are microorganisms that

produce methane as a metabolic

terms to byproduct in hypoxic conditions.
familiarise • Lithotrophs are a diverse group of
with.. organisms using inorganic substrate
(usually of mineral origin) to obtain
reducing equivalents for use in
biosynthesis (e.g., carbon dioxide
fixation) or energy conservation (i.e.,
ATP production) via aerobic or
anaerobic respiration.
 Couple of • Thermoacidophilic :
A thermoacidophile can grow under
terms to conditions of high temperature and low
familiarise pH.

with.. • Chemolithoautotrophic : These

organisms obtain the necessary carbon
for metabolic processes from carbon
dioxide in their environment. They also
use inorganic compounds such as
nitrogen, iron, or sulfur for the energy
to power these processes.
 Couple of • Solfatara fields, areas surrounding
fumaroles (volcanic vents) near the hot
terms to springs or volcanoes, are characterized
familiarise by severe environmental conditions

with.. such as low soil pH and high aluminium

contents. 
• Obligate anaerobes are organism
which can only live in environments
which lack oxygen.
 Couple of • A facultative anaerobe is an organism
that makes ATP by aerobic respiration
terms to if oxygen is present, but is capable of
familiarise switching to fermentation

with.. or anaerobic respiration if oxygen is

absent.
STYGIOLOBUS
Domain: Archaea
Kingdom: Crenarchaeota
Phylum: Crenarchaeota
Class: Thermoprotei
Order: Sulfolobales
Family: Sulfolobaceae
Genus: Stygiolobus
Species: S. azoricus
 Genus • Extremely Thermoacidophilic
Chemolithoautotrophic Archaebacteria
Characters • Identified based on three isolates
(strains FC6T (T = type strain), FC3 and
RG1)
• Grow obligately chemolithotrophically
by reduction of S0 with H2 (H2-S0
lithotrophy)
• The first strictly anaerobic members of
order Sulfolobales.
• DNA G + C content 38 mol %.
 Genus • Description of Stygiolobus gen. nov.
Stygiolobus (adj. stygian, from hell; Gr.
Characters And lobos, lobe, so lobed organism
from Hades, referring to its biotope, in
which the gate to hell was located in
Dante’s Divina Commedia) Strongly
lobed or have sharp edges and bends.
• Cell membrane covered by an envelope
composed of subunits of hexagonal
array.
 Genus • The Stygiolobus isolates resemble
Sulfolobus spp., but Sulfolobus are
Characters facuatively organotrophic and aerobic S0
oxidizers.
• They are are distinct from Acidianus
spp., Acidianus spp. can also grow
aerobically by S0 oxidation and have G +
C content 31 mol %.
• For Stygiolobus azoricus
• In situ Temperature: 72⁰ – 102⁰ C
• In situ pH: 2.0 – 5.5
 Genus • Cells contain glycerol-dibisphytanyl-
nonitol tetraether lipids and
Characters sulfolobusquinone.
• Resistant to vancomycin, ampicillin,
and kanamycin at concentration of 150
microgram/mL.
• Habitat: acid solfataric fields.
•
Metabolism • Grow chemolithoautotrophically on
Hydrogen by reducing molecular sulfur
to H2S, growth depends obligately on
the presence of both H, and S0,
indicating that organism is H-S0
lithoautotroph. Sulfur could not be
replaced by sulphite, tetrathionate, L-
(-)_cystine, or sulfate. None of the
organic compounds can replace H, as a
substrate as well.
References • Segerer AH; Trincone A; Gahrtz M; Stetter
KO (1991). "Stygiolobus azoricus gen.
nov., sp. nov. represents a novel genus of
anaerobic, extremely thermoacidophilic
archaebacteria of the order
Sulfolobales". Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 41 (4):
495–501. doi:10.1099/00207713-41-4-495
• Boone, D., Castenholz, R. and Garrity, G.
(2001). Bergey's manual of systematic
bacteriology. 2nd ed. New York: Springer,
p. 207.
METHANOLOBUS
Domain: Archaea
Phylum: Euryarchaeota
Class: Methanomicrobia
Order: Methanosarcinales
Family: Methanosarcinaceae
Genus: Methanolobus
Species: M. bombayensis, M. oregonensis, M. profundi,
M. taylorii, M. tindarius, M. vulcani
 Genus • Methanogenic archaea, strictly anaerobes and
live exclusively through the production of
Characters methane, but the species within
methanolobus cannot use CO2­ with hydrogen,
acetate or formate, only methyl compounds.
• They are Gram negative and only some are
motile, via a single flagellum, found in lakes
and ocean that lack oxygen.
• Irregular cocci, about 1 micrometer in
diameter, sometimes forming loose
aggregates.
• Endospores are not formed.
 Genus • Susceptible to lysis by detergents or
hypotonic shock. Sometimes motile by
Characters monotrichous flagella. Very strictly
anaerobic.
• Optimal NaCl concentration – 0.1-0.6
M.
• Optimum temperature is 35⁰-40⁰ C
Optimum pH is 6.5-6.8
• Energy metabolism occurs by
dismutation of methyl amines or
methanol to CO2 and CH4.
 Genus • Some strains dismutate methyl
sulphides.
Characters • Ammonia or methylamine serves as
nitrogen source, and sulphide or S0 (or
sometimes methyl sulphides) serves as
sulfur source.
• Habitat: marine sediments or lake
References • Boone, D., Castenholz, R. and Garrity,
G. (2001). Bergey's manual of
systematic bacteriology. 2nd ed. New
York: Springer, pp.283-286.
ARCHAEOGLOBUS
Domain: Archaea
Phylum: Euryarchaeota
Class: Archaeoglobi
Order: Archaeoglobaceae
Genus: Archaeoglobus
Species: A. fulgidus, A. lithotrophicus, A. infectus, A.
profundus, A. veneficus
 Genus • Habitat: High temperature oil fields
where they may contribute to oil field
Characters souring.
• Grow anaerobically at extremely high
temperatures between 60 and 95 ⁰C
• Optimal growth at 83 ⁰C.
 Genus • Sulphate-reducing archaea, coupling
the reduction of sulphate to sulphide
Characters with the oxidation of many different
organic carbon sources, including
complex polymers.
• Archaeoglobus members are
hyperthermophiles that can be found
in hydrothermal vents, oil deposits, and
hot springs.
 Genus • They can produce biofilms when
subjected to environmental stresses
Characters such as extreme pH or temperature,
high concentrations of metal, or the
addition of antibiotics, xenobiotics, or
oxygen.
• These archaeons are known to cause
the corrosion of iron and steel in oil and
gas processing systems by producing
iron sulphide.
 Genus • Their biofilms (composed of
polysaccharides, proteins, and metals),
Characters however, may have industrial or
research applications in the form of
detoxifying metal contaminated
samples or to gather metals in an
economically recoverable form.
 Some • A. lithotrophicus live
chemolithoautotrophically on
characteristics Hydrogen, Sulphate and Carbon
of some species dioxide.
• A. profundus grow lithotrophically, but
while this species needs acetate and
CO2 for biosynthesis, they are
heterotroph.
 Some • A. fulgidus genome sequence shows
complete set of genes for
characteristic methanogenesis but the lack methyl-
s of some CoM reductase does not allow for

species methanogenesis to occur, The

functions of these genes is unknown in
A. fulgidus.
References • Boone, D., Castenholz, R. and Garrity,
G. (2001). Bergey's manual of
systematic bacteriology. 2nd ed. New
York: Springer, pp.349-352.
HELIOTHRIX
Domain: Archaea
Phylum: Chloroflexi
Class: Chloroflexi
Order: Chloroflexales
Family: Chloroflexaceae
Genus: Heliothrix
Species: H. oregonensis
 Genus • Filamentous, gliding bacterium
containing bacteriochlorophyll a that is
Characters aerotolerant and photoheterotrophic.
• Organism could not be grown in pure
culture, so the studies were performed
by experimentation in the field and by
laboratory analyses of nearly pure
collections of large masses of bacteria
(Pierson and Howard 1972; Pierson et
al. 1984).
 Genus • Filaments of indefinite length,
unbranched, undifferentiated with gliding
Characters motility, and no flagella.
• Filaments clearly septate. Thin sheath
may or may not be present.
• Cells much longer than broad. (ca. 10
micrometre in length and ca. 1.5
micrometre in diameter).
• Cell division by fission in one plane.
• No gas vacuoles known.
• Gram negative.
 Genus • Refractile inclusions primarily poly-β-
hydroxybutyric acid (PHB). No
Characters intracytoplasmic membranes. No
chlorosomes.
• Masses of filaments bright orange in colour.
• Contains bacteriochlorophyll a as only
chlorophyll.
• Carotenoids include γ-carotene glucosides
and oxygenated derivatives of γ-carotene, β-
and γ-carotene and oxygenated derivatives of
β-carotene present only in trace amounts if at
all. (Pierson et al. 1984)
References • Boone, D., Castenholz, R. and Garrity,
G. (2001). Bergey's manual of
systematic bacteriology. 2nd ed. New
York: Springer, pp.349-352.