Sulfolobus

Abstract

Sul.fo.lo' bus . L. neut. n. sulfur sulfur; Gr. masc. n. lobos lobe; M.L. masc. n. Sulfolobus lobed sulfur‐oxidizing organism. Crenarchaeota / Thermoprotei / Sulfolobales / Sulfolobaceae / Sulfolobus Cells coccoid , highly irregular with a diameter from about 0.7 to 2 µm, usually occurring singly . Gram negative. Immotile or motile by possession of one or more flagella. Obligate aerobe . Facultatively chemolithoautotrophic . Lithotrophic growth via oxidation of sulfidic ores , sulfide , S 0 , or tetrathionate resulting in the production of sulfuric acid. No growth by anaerobic sulfur reduction. Aerobic hydrogen oxidation by some species. Organotrophic growth on complex organic material (e.g., beef extract, peptone, or yeast extract), sugars, or amino acids. Optimal growth temperatures between 65 and 85 ° C . Growth between pH 1 and 5 . 5 (Brock et al., 1972; Brock, 1978). Based on 16S rRNA sequence data, the Sulfolobus species are distributed over several branches within the Sulfolobales ( Sulfolobaceae ), indicating that they do not represent one cluster (genus) within this order (family) (Fuchs et al., 1996a). Type species : Sulfolobus acidocaldarius Brock, Brock, Belly and Weiss 1972, 66.

Geologic legacy spanning >90 years explains unique Yellowstone hot spring geochemistry and biodiversity

“…These elevated concentrations of SO 4 2− are consistent with sulphuric acid buffering and indicate a significant input of vapour phase gas (Nordstrom et al ., ). This is also consistent with reports that the spring hosted abundant microaerophilic Sulfolobus cells (Mosser et al ., ; Brock et al ., ; Zinder and Brock, ; Ball et al ., ), organisms that oxidize inorganic sulphur compounds (e.g., S°) to generate SO 4 2− and acidity (Huber and Stetter, ), and reports of between 20 and 51 mM soluble total S° at this time (Brock et al ., ; Zinder and Brock, ). A single measurement of Cl − (38.2 mg L −1 ) was made in 1975, and this is paired with a SO 4 2− measurement of 6300 mg L −1 (Ball et al ., ).…”