Pyrobaculum

Pyrobaculum is a genus of archaeans in the family Thermoproteaceae.

Pyrobaculum is a genus of archaeans in the family Thermoproteaceae. The first of the Pyrobaculum species to be genetically sequenced, P. aerophilum (rod-shaped, 3–8 * 0.6 μm), has a rare characteristic for an archaeon because it is capable of aerobic respiration (aerophilum = "air-loving"). This is evident from the fact that the archaeon grew only in the presence of oxygen when nitrate was absent. It produces colonies that are round and greyish yellow. It utilizes both organic (maximal cell densities were observed with complex organics such as yeast extract, meat extract, tryptone, and peptone as substrates) and inorganic compounds during aerobic and anaerobic respiration. Also, use of elemental sulphur for growth was observed. Further, P. aerophilum grows between 75 and 104 °C with an optimal growth temperature at 100 °C. In stationary phase cultures, Pyrobaculum calidifontis cells were observed to aggregate. The aggregation is likely to be mediated by archaeal bundling pili (ABP), which assemble into highly ordered bipolar bundles. The bipolar nature of these bundles most likely arises from the association of filaments from at least two or more different cells. The component protein, AbpA, shows homology, both at the sequence and structural level, to the bacterial protein TasA, a major component of the extracellular matrix in bacterial biofilms, contributing to biofilm stability. ==Phylogeny== The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). ==References== ==Further reading==

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