Hadesarchaea

Hadesarchaea
Scientific classification
Domain: Archaea
Kingdom: Euryarchaeota
Phylum: Euryarchaeota
Order

    Hadesarchaea, formerly called the South-African Gold Mine Miscellaneous Euryarchaeal Group, are a class of thermophile microorganisms that have been found in deep mines, hot springs and other subterranean environments.[1]

    Nomenclature

    These archea were initially called South-African Gold Mine Miscellaneous Euryarchaeal Group (SAGMEG) after their initial site of discovery.[2] The name Hadesarchaea was proposed by Baker et al. in 2016, a reference to the Greek god of the underworld.[1]

    Genome

    Shotgun sequencing has shown the genome of Hadesarchaea to be approximately 1.5 Megabase pairs in size,[1] about .5 Mbp smaller than most archea.[3]

    Habitat and metabolism

    These microbes were first discovered in a gold mine in South Africa at a depth of approximately 2 miles (3 km),[2] where they are able to live without oxygen or light.[3][4][5] They were later also found in the White Oak River estuary in North Carolina and in Yellowstone National Park's Lower Culex Basin.[6] These areas are approximately 70°C (158°F) and highly alkaline.[6]

    Hadesarchaea are unique among known archaea in that they can convert carbon monoxide and water to carbon dioxide and oxygen, producing hydrogen as a by-product. In other ways, they are similar to anerobic euryarchaeotic bacteria.[6] Initial research suggests that these organisms are also involved in significant geochemical processes.[1]

    See also

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 Baker, Brett J.; Saw, Jimmy H.; Lind, Anders E.; Lazar, Cassandra Sara; Hinrichs, Kai-Uwe; Teske, Andreas P.; Ettema, Thijs J.G. (February 16, 2016). "Genomic inference of the metabolism of cosmopolitan subsurface Archaea, Hadesarchaea". Nature Microbiology 1. doi:10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.2. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
    2. 1 2 Ettema, Thijs (February 17, 2016). "New paper about the Hadesarchaea published!". Ettema Lab. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
    3. 1 2 "Hadesarchaea: a New Archaeal Class of Cosmopolitan Deep Microbes". Deep Carbon Observatory. February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
    4. ↑ "Scientists discover new microbes that thrive deep in the earth" (Press release). Uppsala University. February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
    5. ↑ "Underworld microbes shock scientists: Mystery of Hadesarchaea". India Today (New Delhi). February 17, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
    6. 1 2 3 Atherton, Matt (February 15, 2016). "God of the underworld microbes Hadesarchaea discovered living on toxic gas deep below Yellowstone hot springs". IB Times. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
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