Aquifex

Aquifex is a bacterial genus, belonging to phylum Aquificae. There is one species of Aquifex with a validly published name – A. pyrophilus – but "A. aeolicus" is sometimes considered as species though it has no standing as a name given it has not been validly or effectively published. Aquifex spp. are extreme thermophiles, growing best at temperature of 85 °C to 95 °C. They are members of the Bacteria as opposed to the other inhabitants of extreme environments, the Archaea.[1]

Aquifex
Scientific classification
Domain:
Bacteria
Phylum:
Aquificae
Class:
Aquificae
Order:
Aquificales
Family:
Aquificaceae
Genus:
Aquifex

Huber & Stetter 1992
Species

A. aeolicus
A. pyrophilus

Aquifex spp. are rod-shaped bacteria with a length of 2 to 6 µm, have a diameter of around 0.5 µm and are motile. They are non-sporeforming, Gram negative autotrophs. Aquifex means water-maker in Latin, and refers to the fact that its method of respiration creates water. Aquifex tend to form cell aggregates composed of up to 100 individual cells.

Aquifex spp. are thermophilic and often grow near underwater volcanoes or hot springs.[2] A. aeolicus requires oxygen to survive, but can grow in levels of oxygen as low as 7.5 ppm. A. pyrophilus can even grow anaerobically by reducing nitrogen instead of oxygen. Like other thermophilic bacteria, Aquifex has important uses in industrial processes.

The genome of "A. aeolicus" has been completed.[3],[4] This was made easier by the fact that the length of the genome is only about a third of the length of the genome for E. coli. Comparison of the A. aeolicus genome to other organisms showed that around 16% of its genes originated from the Archaea domain. Members of this genus are thought to be some of the earliest members of the eubacteria domain.

"A. aeolicus" was discovered north of Sicily, while A. pyrophilus was first found just north of Iceland.

Genome Structure

The complete genome for A. aeolicus consists of 1,551,335 base pairs with over 1500 open reading frames (ORFs) or chromosomal coding sequences. An extremely large portion (over 90%) of the genome are protein-coding regions and there are no significant non-coding repeats. though the A. aeolicus genome is dense, many enzyme subunits used for respiration processes are found in separate operons. Any repairs to the genome are done by a protein like DNA polymerase beta found in most eukaryotes.[3]

Cell Metabolism

Aquifex respiration and fixation pathways use similar pathways to that of other autotrophic bacteria. Carbon fixation is done using the reductive TCA cycle and forms acetyl-CoA as well as many other bio-synthetic materials. Many bacterium use products from the TCA cycle in the pentose-phosphate pathway and Entner-Doudoroff pathway or Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway however, many enzymes that are necessary for these gluconeogenic processes have not been identified in A. aeolicus suggesting a different pathway might be used.[3]

A. aeolicus needs oxygen at concentrations higher than 7.5 p.p.m to perform respiration while A. pyrophilus is capable of respiration with nitrogen however, both species have a nitrate reductase and nitrate transporter genes located within their genome. the enzymes used in other bacterium for oxygen respiration are used by Aquifex. Many other oxidoreductases are present however their physiological role is unknown.[3] Aquifex oxides thiosulfate, molecular hydrogen, and sulfur within their respiratory pathway.[5]

Phylogeny

Phylogenetic trees that are based on small subunit rRNA suggest that Aquificales are some of the earliest bacteria that branched from Archaea. However, phylogenetic trees based on protein contradict this argument.[6][3] The exact phylogeny is hard to determine because of this and the many horizontal gene transfers within the lineage.[5] These factors lead many to believe the phylum of Aquifex is basal next to Thermotogae, another hyperthermophilic phylum, or are a part of the Epsilonproteobacteria, a highly diverse group of hydrothermal dwelling species.[7]

Research Potential

A. aeolicus is used as a model organism for hyperthermophilic bacterium. Many studies have looked at the Aquifex hydrogenases ability to preform the reversible oxidation of dihydrogen (the oxidation reaction) at extremely high temperatures.[8] The success of the properties within the hydrogenases of Aquifex mark the genus as a possible renewable bio-catalysts for hydrogen based fuel cells.[9]

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References
  1. Reysenbach A-L (2001). Boone DR; Castenholz RW (eds.). Aquificae phy. nov. in Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology (2nd ed.). Springer-Verlag, Berlin. pp. 359–367. ISBN 0-683-00603-7.
  2. Madigan M; Martinko J, eds. (2005). Brock Biology of Microorganisms (11th ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-144329-1.
  3. Deckert G; et al. (1998). "The complete genome of the hyperthermophilic bacterium Aquifex aeolicus". Nature. 392 (6674): 353–358. Bibcode:1998Natur.392..353D. doi:10.1038/32831. PMID 9537320.
  4. "The complete genome of Aquifex aeolicus". Aquifex aeolicus VF5 Information. Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2006-03-14.
  5. Guiral, Marianne; Prunetti, Laurence; Aussignargues, Clément; Ciaccafava, Alexandre; Infossi, Pascale; Ilbert, Marianne; Lojou, Elisabeth; Giudici-Orticoni, Marie-Thérèse (2012-01-01), Poole, Robert K. (ed.), "Chapter Four – The Hyperthermophilic Bacterium Aquifex aeolicus: From Respiratory Pathways to Extremely Resistant Enzymes and Biotechnological Applications", Advances in Microbial Physiology, Advances in Bacterial Respiratory Physiology, Academic Press, 61, pp. 125–194, retrieved 2020-05-01
  6. Olsen, Gary J. (October 1994). "Archaea, Archaea, every where". Nature. 371 (6499): 657–658. Bibcode:1994Natur.371..657O. doi:10.1038/371657a0. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 7935810. S2CID 4315522.
  7. Eveleigh, Robert J. M.; Meehan, Conor J.; Archibald, John M.; Beiko, Robert G. (2013-12-01). "Being Aquifex aeolicus: Untangling a Hyperthermophile's Checkered Past". Genome Biology and Evolution. 5 (12): 2478–2497. doi:10.1093/gbe/evt195. PMC 3879981. PMID 24281050.
  8. Pandelia, Maria-Eirini; Nitschke, Wolfgang; Infossi, Pascale; Giudici-Orticoni, Marie-Thérèse; Bill, Eckhard; Lubitz, Wolfgang (2011-04-12). "Characterization of a unique [FeS] cluster in the electron transfer chain of the oxygen tolerant [NiFe] hydrogenase from Aquifex aeolicus". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108 (15): 6097–6102. Bibcode:2011PNAS..108.6097P. doi:10.1073/pnas.1100610108. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 3076877. PMID 21444783.
  9. Infossi, Pascale; Lojou, Elisabeth; Chauvin, Jean-Paul; Herbette, Gaetan; Brugna, Myriam; Giudici-Orticoni, Marie-Thérèse (2010-10-01). "Aquifex aeolicus membrane hydrogenase for hydrogen biooxidation: Role of lipids and physiological partners in enzyme stability and activity". International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. Indo-French Workshop on Biohydrogen: from Basic Concepts to Technology. 35 (19): 10778–10789. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2010.02.054. ISSN 0360-3199.
  • Aquifex from the Kenyon College biology department's student-edited microbe wiki.
  • The Prokaryotes: An Evolving Electronic Resource for the Mircobiological Community. 2004. Springer-Verlag New York, LLC.
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