Thermococcus gammatolerans

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Thermococcus gammatolerans
Thermococcus gammatolerans.jpg
Thermococcus gammatolerans
Scientific classification
Domain:
Archaea
Kingdom:
Archaebacteria
Phylum:
Euryarchaeota
Class:
Thermococci
Order:
Thermococcales
Family:
Thermococcaceae
Genus:
Thermococcus
Species:
T. gammatolerans
Binomial name
Thermococcus gammatolerans
Jolivet, 2003

Thermococcus gammatolerans is a gram-negative archaeon [1] extremophile and the most radiation-resistant organism known to exist.

Contents

As reported in 2003 the type strain EJ3T was taken from a submarine hydrothermal vent in the Guaymas Basin off the coast of Baja California at a depth of about 2,600  m by submersible Nautile during the 1991 Guaynaut cruise. Thermococcus gammatolerans thrives in temperatures between 55 and 95 °C with an optimum development around 88 °C. Its optimal growth pH is 6, favoring the presence of sulfur (S), which is reduced to hydrogen sulfide (H
2S). It is the organism with the strongest known resistance to radiation, supporting a radiation of gamma rays from 30,000 gray (Gy). [2]

Along with the genera Palaeococcus and Pyrococcus, Thermococcus belongs to the Thermococcaceae family, sole family of the Thermococci (called "Protoarchaea" by Cavalier-Smith), a class in the phylum Euryarchaeota of Archaea. [3] Thermococcus species live in extremely hot environments such as hydrothermal vents with a growth optimum temperature above 80 °C. Thermococcus and Pyrococcus (literally "ball of fire") are both chemoorganotrophic anaerobic required. Thermococcus spp. prefer 70–95 °C, whereas Pyrococcus species prefer 70–100 °C.

The resistance to ionizing radiation of T. gammatolerans is enormous. While a dose of 5 Gy is sufficient to kill a human, and a dose of 60 Gy is able to kill all cells in a colony of E. coli, Thermococcus gammatolerans can withstand doses up to 30,000 Gy, and an instantaneous dose up to 5,000 Gy with no loss of viability.

History

Thermococcus gammatolerans was discovered in 2003 in samples collected from a hydrothermal chimney at the Guaymas Basin about 2,000 m deep off the coast of California, (27° 1' N, 111° 24' W).

Mechanisms of resistance to radiation

Unlike other organisms, cell survival in T. gammatolerans is not altered by changing conditions in its growth phase, but the lack of ideal conditions and nutrients decreases its radioresistance. The system of chromosomal DNA repair shows that cells in stationary phase of growth reconstitute DNA more rapidly than cells in exponential growth phase. T. gammatolerans can slowly or quickly rebuild damaged chromosomes without loss of viability. [4]

Applications

A study has been conducted of its application to the development of new enzymatic markers that are resistant to high temperatures and their application in the study of carcinogenesis and the study of the development of mitochondrial diseases. DNA repair mechanisms of T. gammatolerans could be incorporated into the genome of more complex species to improve DNA repair and reduce cellular aging.

Etymology

Thermococcus: Greek feminine noun thermê (θέρμη), [5] heat; Neo-Latin masculine noun coccus (from Greek masculine noun kokkos (κόκκος), [6] berry), coccus; new Latin masculine noun Thermococcus, coccus existing in hot environment. [7] gammatolerans: Gr. gamma (γάμμα), [8] referring to gamma rays; Latin participle adjective tolerans, tolerating; Neo-Latin participle adjective gammatolerans, referring to its ability to tolerate high levels of γ-rays. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extremophile</span> Organisms capable of living in extreme environments

An extremophile is an organism that is able to live in extreme environments, i.e., environments with conditions approaching or stretching the limits of what known life can adapt to, such as extreme temperature, pressure, radiation, salinity, or pH level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thermophile</span> Organism that thrives at relatively high temperatures

A thermophile is an organism—a type of extremophile—that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between 41 and 122 °C. Many thermophiles are archaea, though some of them are bacteria and fungi. Thermophilic eubacteria are suggested to have been among the earliest bacteria.

<i>Pyrococcus furiosus</i> Species of archaeon

Pyrococcus furiosus is a heterotrophic, strictly anaerobic, extremophilic, model species of archaea. It is classified as a hyperthermophile because it thrives best under extremely high temperatures, and is notable for having an optimum growth temperature of 100 °C. P. furiosus belongs to the Pyrococcus genus, most commonly found in extreme environmental conditions of hydrothermal vents. It is one of the few prokaryotic organisms that has enzymes containing tungsten, an element rarely found in biological molecules.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thermococci</span> Class of archaea

In taxonomy, the Thermococci are a class of microbes within the Euryarchaeota.

In taxonomy, Thermococcus is a genus of thermophilic Archaea in the family the Thermococcaceae.

Aeropyrum is a genus of archaea in the family Desulfurococcaceae.

Thermococcus litoralis is a species of Archaea that is found around deep-sea hydrothermal vents as well as shallow submarine thermal springs and oil wells. It is an anaerobic organotroph hyperthermophile that is between 0.5–3.0 μm (20–118 μin) in diameter. Like the other species in the order thermococcales, T. litoralis is an irregular hyperthermophile coccus that grows between 55–100 °C (131–212 °F). Unlike many other thermococci, T. litoralis is non-motile. Its cell wall consists only of a single S-layer that does not form hexagonal lattices. Additionally, while many thermococcales obligately use sulfur as an electron acceptor in metabolism, T. litoralis only needs sulfur to help stimulate growth, and can live without it. T. litoralis has recently been popularized by the scientific community for its ability to produce an alternative DNA polymerase to the commonly used Taq polymerase. The T. litoralis polymerase, dubbed the vent polymerase, has been shown to have a lower error rate than Taq but due to its proofreading 3’–5’ exonuclease abilities, but higher than Pfu polymerase.

Thermococcus celer is a Gram-negative, spherical-shaped archaeon of the genus Thermococcus. The discovery of T. celer played an important role in rerooting the tree of life when T. celer was found to be more closely related to methanogenic Archaea than to other phenotypically similar thermophilic species. T. celer was the first archaeon discovered to house a circularized genome. Several type strains of T. celer have been identified: Vu13, ATCC 35543, and DSM 2476.

Macrococcus is a genus of Gram-positive cocci belonging to the family Staphylococcaceae. The genus was created in 1998.

Agitococcus is a genus in the phylum Bacillota (Bacteria).

Defluviicoccus is a genus in the phylum Pseudomonadota (Bacteria).

Croceicoccus is a genus in the phylum Pseudomonadota (Bacteria).

<i>Pyrococcus horikoshii</i> Species of archaeon

Pyrococcus horikoshii is a hyperthermophilic, anaerobic archaeon, first isolated from hydrothermal fluid samples obtained at the Okinawa Trough vents at a depth of 1,395 metres (4,577 ft). It is obligately heterotrophic, cells are irregular cocci with a tuft of flagella, growing optimally at 98 °C, sulphur greatly enhancing its growth.

<i>Pyrococcus abyssi</i> Species of archaeon

Pyrococcus abyssi is a hyperthermophilic archaeon isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent in the North Fiji Basin at 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). It is anaerobic, sulfur-metabolizing, gram-negative, coccus-shaped and highly motile. Its optimum growth temperature is 96 °C (205 °F). Its type strain is GE5. Pyrococcus abyssi has been used as a model organism in studies of DNA polymerase. This species can also grow at high cell densities in bioreactors.

Thermococcus profundus is a hyperthermophilic archaeon isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent. It is coccoid-shaped with 1–2 μm in diameter, designated as strain DT5432.

Thermococcus chitonophagus is a chitin-degrading, hyperthermophilic archaeon isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent. T. chitonophagus was discovered off the West of the Mexican Coast 2,600m in the water. Since there was DNA–DNA hybridization, 16S rRNA, and the GC-content was 46.5 mol%, upon analysis, the chitonophagus were identified to be of the Thermococcus genus. It is anaerobic, round to slightly irregular coccus-shaped, 1.2–2.5 μm in diameter, and motile by means of a tuft of flagella.

Thermococcus barophilus is a piezophilic and hyperthermophilic archaeon isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent. It is anaerobic and sulfur-metabolising, with type strain MPT.

Thermococcus peptonophilus is a fast-growing hyperthermophilic archaeon. It is coccus-shaped, obligately anaerobic and about 0.7–2 μm in diameter. It is a strict anaerobe and grows exclusively on complex substrates, such as peptone, casein, tryptone, and yeast extract. It cannot use carbon dioxide as a source of carbon. Although it can grow somewhat in the absence of elemental sulfur, it prefers sulfur.

Thermococcus hydrothermalis is a hyperthermophilic archaeon. It is strictly anaerobic and coccus-shaped, and its cells range from 0.8 to 2.0 μm in diameter, with type strain AL662T. It was isolated from a hydrothermal vent in the East Pacific Rise. This species is notable for its α-glucosidase, which functions optimally at a temperature of 110 °C.

References

  1. ↑ Podstawka, Adam. "Thermococcus gammatolerans EJ3 | Type strain | DSM 15229, JCM 11827 | BacDiveID:16885". bacdive.dsmz.de. doi:10.13145/bacdive16885.20240510.9 . Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  2. ↑ Jolivet, E; L'Haridon, S; Corre, E; Forterre, P; Prieur, D (2003). "Thermococcus gammatolerans sp. nov., a hyperthermophilic archaeon from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent that resists ionizing radiation". Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 53 (Pt 3): 847–51. doi: 10.1099/ijs.0.02503-0 . PMID   12807211.
  3. ↑ Classification of phyla in LPSN ; Parte, Aidan C.; Sardà Carbasse, Joaquim; Meier-Kolthoff, Jan P.; Reimer, Lorenz C.; Göker, Markus (1 November 2020). "List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) moves to the DSMZ". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 70 (11): 5607–5612. doi: 10.1099/ijsem.0.004332 .
  4. ↑ Tapias, Angels; Leplat, Christophe; Confalonieri, Fabrice (March 2009). "Recovery of ionizing-radiation damage after high doses of gamma ray in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus gammatolerans". Extremophiles. 13 (2): 333–343. doi:10.1007/s00792-008-0221-3. PMID   19137239. S2CID   5671089.
  5. ↑ θέρμη . Liddell, Henry George ; Scott, Robert ; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
  6. ↑ κόκκος . Liddell, Henry George ; Scott, Robert ; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
  7. 1 2 Thermococcus in LPSN ; Parte, Aidan C.; Sardà Carbasse, Joaquim; Meier-Kolthoff, Jan P.; Reimer, Lorenz C.; Göker, Markus (1 November 2020). "List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) moves to the DSMZ". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 70 (11): 5607–5612. doi: 10.1099/ijsem.0.004332 .
  8. ↑ γάμμα . Liddell, Henry George ; Scott, Robert ; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project

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