Nautilia profundicola
| Nautilia profundicola | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Bacteria |
| Phylum: | Proteobacteria |
| Class: | Epsilonproteobacteria |
| Order: | Nautiliales |
| Family: | Nautiliaceae |
| Genus: | Nautilia |
| Species: | N. profundicola |
| Binomial name | |
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Nautilia profundicola Smith et al, 2008 |
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Nautilia profundicola is a Gram-negative chemolithoautotrophic epsilonproteobacterium found around hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean. It was first discovered in 1999 on the East Pacific Rise at depth of 2,500 metres (8,200 ft), on the surface of the polychaete worm Alvinella pompejana.Nautilia profundicola lives symbiotically on the dorsal hairs of A. pompejana but they may also form biofilms and live independently on the walls of hydrothermal vents. The ability of N. profundicola to survive in an anaerobic environment rich in sulfur, H2 and CO2 of varying temperature makes it a useful organism to study, as these are the conditions that are theorized to have prevailed around the time of the earliest life on earth.
Nautilia profundicola is a motile, rod-shaped bacterium, around 0.4 μm long and 0.3 μm wide. Like most epsilonproteobacteria, it has an unsheathed polar flagellum.
Nautilia profundicola lives among the hydrothermal vents and can grow at temperatures of 30–55 °C (86–131 °F). It uses anaerobic respiration and is a chemolithoautotroph. Nautilia profundicola uses hydrogen or formate as an electron donor and sulfur an electron acceptor to produce hydrogen sulfide.Nautilia profundicola contains the protein reverse gyrase, which has been found amongst thermophilic bacteria, and which helps it survive the large temperature variation associated with its environment. Reverse gyrase is theorized to keep the genome stable and prevent damage by the extreme heat. Along with the ability to fix carbon and sulfur, analysis of the genome of Nautilia profundicola points to a novel pathway of nitrogen fixation.
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