AQUIFEX

'''Aquifex''' is a genus of bacteria, one of the few in the phylum Aquificae. The two species generally classified in ''Aquifex'' are ''A. pyrophilus'' and ''A. aeolicus''. Both are highly thermophilic, growing best in water temperature of 85 °C to 95 °C. They are true bacteria (also known as the domain Eubacteria) as opposed to the other inhabitants of extreme environments, the Archaea.^[1]
Both species of ''Aquifex'' are rod-shaped bacteria with a length of 2 to 6 µm and a diameter of around 0.5 µm. 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'' 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 successfully mapped.^[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.

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References

1. Aquificae phy. nov. ''in'' Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology., Reysenbach A-L; (Boone DR; Castenholz RW (eds)), , , Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2001, ISBN 0-683-00603-7 (pp. 359–367).
2. Brock Biology of Microorganisms, Madigan M; Martinko J (editors)., , , Prentice Hall, 2005, ISBN 0-13-144329-1
3. The complete genome of the hyperthermophilic bacterium ''Aquifex aeolicus''., Deckert G ''et al''., , , Nature, 1998
4. The complete genome of Aquifex aeolicus

External links

★ Aquifex from the Kenyon College biology department.

★ ''The Prokaryotes: An Evolving Electronic Resource for the Mircobiological Community.'' 2004. Springer-Verlag New York, LLC.