Pyrodictium abyssi

Pyrodictium abyssi is a marine hyperthermophilic archaeon. Its 1991 species description reported isolates from deep vents off Mexico and shallow vents near Iceland. The isolates grew at 80–110°C, with an optimum around 97°C. These are laboratory observations, rather than a global distribution survey. [1]

The original description reports disc-shaped cells entangled in fiber networks. The isolates fermented organic substrates, including carbohydrates and proteins. Hydrogen stimulated growth, and hydrogen sulfide formed when elemental sulfur was present. These observations should not be generalized to every strain or natural habitat without further evidence. [1]

The original study documents isolates from both deep and shallow marine hydrothermal vents. Those sampling records establish known isolation environments; they do not prove that the organism occurs in every hydrothermal system. The designated type strain was AV2, deposited as DSM 6158. [1]

Extracellular hollow fibers called cannulae connect cells in a network. A 2020 study describes CanA together with CanB and CanC as components of this heat-resistant structure. Researchers used an N-terminally shortened CanA construct for nuclear magnetic resonance assignments and secondary-structure estimation. Protein diagrams and spectra from that work must be labeled as research figures, rather than photographs of the complete organism. [2]

The cited GBIF record places this species in Pyrodictium and Pyrodictiaceae. Database classifications can change; experimental physiology and morphology in this article are supported by the species description and protein research, rather than inferred from taxonomic ranks. [3]

[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0723202011803760

Pley et al. (1991), Systematic and Applied Microbiology 14(3), 245–253. Original species description.

[2] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12104-020-09934-x

Kreitner et al. (2020), Biomolecular NMR Assignments 14, 141–146. CanA research.

[3] https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/1000006

GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, CC BY 4.0.