Sulfurisphaera

Sulfurisphaera
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Archaea
Kingdom: Thermoproteati
Phylum: Thermoproteota
Class: Thermoprotei
Order: Sulfolobales
Family: Sulfolobaceae
Genus: Sulfurisphaera
Kurosawa et al. 1998
Type species
Sulfurisphaera ohwakuensis
Kurosawa et al. 1998
Species

Sulfurisphaera is a genus of the Sulfolobaceae.

Description and significance

Sulfurisphaera is a facultatively anaerobic, thermophilic, Gram-negative archaeon that occurs in acidic solfataric fields. The organism grows under the temperature range of 63–92 °C with the optimum temperature at 84 °C, and under the pH range of 1.0–5.0, with an optimum of pH 2.0. It forms colonies that are smooth, roundly convex, and slightly yellow.

Taxonomy

The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).

16S rRNA based LTP_07_2026 53 marker proteins based GTDB 11-RS232
Sulfurisphaera

S. javensis Tsuboi et al. 2018

Sulfolobus yangmingensis Jan et al. 1999

S. ohwakuensis Kurosawa et al. 1998

S. tokodaii (Suzuki et al. 2002) Tsuboi et al. 2018
Sulfurisphaera

S. javensis

S. ohwakuensis

S. tokodaii

Genome structure

The genome of Sulfurisphaera is yet to be sequenced. The G + C content is estimated to be 30–33%.

Cell structure and metabolism

The spherical cells of Sulfurisphaera ohwakuensis are 1.2–1.5 μm in diameter. Thin sections of the organism reveal an envelope (approx. 24 nm) surrounding the cell membrane. It grows organotrophically on proteinaceous, complex substrates such as yeast extract, peptone, and tryptone. Growth was not observed on single sugars or amino acids such as D-glucose, D-galactose, D-fructose, D-xylose, lactose, maltose, sucrose, alanine, glutamate, glycine, and histidine.

Ecology

The strains of Sulfurisphaera ohwakuensis were isolated from multiple locations in the acidic hot springs in Ohwaku Valley, Hakone, Japan.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Sulfurisphaera in LPSN; Freese, H. M.; Meier-Kolthoff, J. P.; Sardà Carbasse, J.; Afolayan, A. O.; Göker, M. (2026). "TYGS and LPSN in 2025: a Global Core Biodata Resource for genome-based classification and nomenclature of prokaryotes within DSMZ Digital Diversity". Nucleic Acids Research. 54 (D1): D884–D891. doi:10.1093/nar/gkaf1110.
  2. 1 2 C.L. Schoch. "Sulfurisphaera". National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) taxonomy database. Retrieved 2026-08-01.
  3. ↑ "The LTPlus". The All-Species Living Tree Project. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "LTP_all tree in newick format". The All-Species Living Tree Project. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  5. ↑ Rossello-Mora, Ramon; Viver, Tomeu; Palmer-Rodríguez, Pere; Westram, Ralf; Bustos-Caparros, Esteban; Gago, Joan Francisco; Gonzalez-Mendez, Jaime; Llabrés, Mercè; Ludwig, Wolfgang; Amann, Rudolf (22 April 2026). "A pipeline for improved 16S rRNA gene-based phylogeny and diversity analyses of Bacteria and Archaea". Nature Portfolio. doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-9370187/v1.
  6. ↑ "GTDB release 11-RS232". Genome Taxonomy Database. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  7. ↑ "ar53_r232.sp_label". Genome Taxonomy Database. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "Taxon History". Genome Taxonomy Database. Retrieved 1 May 2026.

Further reading

Scientific journals

Scientific books

  • Stetter, KO (1989). "Order III. Sulfolobales ord. nov. Family Sulfolobaceae fam. nov.". In JT Staley; MP Bryant; N Pfennig; JG Holt (eds.). Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, Volume 3 (1st ed.). Baltimore: The Williams & Wilkins Co. p. 169. ISBN 0-683-07908-5.