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The genus Ferroplasma is comprised solely of F. acidophilum, an acidophilic iron-oxidizing member of the Euryarchaeota. Unlike other members of the Thermoplasmata F.acidophilum is a mesophile with a temperature optimum of approximately 35ºC, at which grows optimally at pH of 1.7. F. acidophilum is generally found in acidic mine tailings, primarily those containing pyrite (FeS). It is especially abundant in cases of severe acid mine drainage, where other organisms such as Acidithiobacillus and Leptospirillum have lowered the pH of the environment such that the obligately acidophilic F. acidophilum is allowed to flourish. Physiologically, F. acidophilum obtains energy by oxidation of the ferrous iron in the pyrite using oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor. This process produces sulfuric acid as a by-product which leads to further acidification of its environment. F. acidophilum is an autotroph and, like Thermoplasma does not contain a cell wall. Unlike Thermoplasma, however, the F. acidophilum cell membrane does not contain tetraether lipids.
[edit] References
- Golyshina, O.V., Pivovarova, T.A., Karavaiko, G.I., Kondrat’eva, T.F., Moore, E.R.B., Abraham, W.-R., Lunsdorf, H., Timmis, K. N., Yakimov, M.M. and Golyshin, P.N. (2000). "Ferroplasma acidiphilum gen. nov., sp. nov., an acidophilic, autotrophic, ferrous-iron-oxidizing, cell-wall-lacking, mesophilic member of the Ferroplasmaceae fam. nov., comprising a distinct lineage of the Archaea". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 60: 997-1006.
- Madigan, M.T. and Martinko, J.M. (2005). Brock Biology of Microorganisms, 11th Ed.. Pearson Prentice Hall.
