Thermococci

Thermococci
Thermococcus gammatolerans
Scientific classification
Domain: Archaea
Kingdom: Methanobacteriati
Phylum: Methanobacteriota
Class:
Zillig and Reysenbach 2002[1]
Orders
Synonyms
  • "Methanofastidiosia" corrig. Nobu et al. 2016
  • Protoarchaea Cavalier-Smith 2002
  • "Thermococcia" Oren, Parte & Garrity 2016

Thermococci is a class of microbes within the Euryarchaeota.[2]

They live in extremely hot environments, such as hydrothermal vents,[3] and their optimal optimal growth temperatures tend to be around 75 to 85°C.[4] Thermococcus and Pyrococcus (literally "balls of fire") are both obligately anaerobic chemoorganotrophs.

Thermococcus prefers 70–95 °C and Pyrococcus 70-100 °C. Palaeococcus helgesonii, recently discovered in the Tyrrhenian Sea, is an aerobic chemoheterotrophic that grows at temperatures of 45–85 °C with an optimal temperature of 80 °C. Thermococcus gammatolerans sp. nov. was recently discovered in the Guaymas Basin, and it grows at temperatures from 55 to 95 °C with an optimal temperature around 88 °C with an optimal pH of 6. It has pronounced radioresistance and can survive gamma radiation at 30 kGy.[5]

Thermococcus grows on organic substrates where there is a higher capacity of elemental sulfur. This archaeon mostly grows between temperatures 60–100 degrees Celsius. The average temperature where they thrive is around 85 degrees Celsius.

The DNA structure has a cicular genome with around 2,353 coding sequence, and 2,306 are identified.

  1. ^ A.C. Parte; et al. "Thermococci". List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN). Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  2. ^ See the NCBI webpage on Thermococci. Data extracted from the "NCBI taxonomy resources". National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
  3. ^ Price, Mark Thomas; Fullerton, Heather; Moyer, Craig Lee (2015-09-24). "Biogeography and evolution of Thermococcus isolates from hydrothermal vent systems of the Pacific". Frontiers in Microbiology. 6. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2015.00968. ISSN 1664-302X. PMC 4585236.
  4. ^ Lamosa, Pedro; Martins, Lígia O.; Da Costa, Milton S.; Santos, Helena (October 1998). "Effects of Temperature, Salinity, and Medium Composition on Compatible Solute Accumulation byThermococcus spp". Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 64 (10): 3591–3598. Bibcode:1998ApEnM..64.3591L. doi:10.1128/AEM.64.10.3591-3598.1998. PMC 106469. PMID 9758772.
  5. ^ "Airspade". Retrieved 13 June 2023.