Picrophilus

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Picrophilus
Scientific classification
Domain: Archaea
Kingdom: Euryarchaeota
Phylum: Euryarchaeota
Class: Thermoplasmata
Order: Thermoplasmatales
Family: Picrophilaceae
Genus: Picrophilus
Binomial name
Picrophilus
Schleper et al. 1996
Species
  • P. oshimae
  • P. torridus

In taxonomy, Picrophilus is an archaean genus of the family Picrophilaceae.[1]

Picrophilus is an extremely acidophilic genus within Euryarchaeota. These microbes are the most acidophilic organisms currently known,[2] with the ability to grow at a pH of -0.06[3]. They are obligate acidophiles and are unable to maintain their membrane integrity at pH values higher than 4. While phylogenetically related to other organisms within Thermoplasmata, unlike Thermoplasma and Ferroplasma, Picrophilus contains an S-layer cell wall.

Contents

References

  1. ^ See the NCBI webpage on Picrophilus. Data extracted from the "NCBI taxonomy resources". National Center for Biotechnology Information. ftp://ftp.ncbi.nih.gov/pub/taxonomy/. Retrieved 2007-03-19. 
  2. ^ C.Michael Hogan. 2010. Extremophile. eds. E.Monosson and C.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment, Washington DC.
  3. ^ Life in the Universe: Expectations and Constraints

Further reading

Scientific journals

  • Schleper C, Puhler G, Klenk HP, Zillig W (1996). "Picrophilus oshimae and Picrophilus torridus fam. nov., gen. nov., sp. nov., two species of hyperacidophilic, thermophilic, heterotrophic, aerobic archaea". Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 46 (3): 814–816. doi:10.1099/00207713-46-3-814. 

Scientific books

  • Madigan, M.T. and Martinko, J.M. (2005). Brock Biology of Microorganisms, 11th Ed.. Pearson Prentice Hall. 

Scientific databases

External links


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