Acidisphaera Explained

Acidisphaera is a genus in the phylum Pseudomonadota (Bacteria). The genus contains a single species, namely A. rubrifaciens with the following characteristics:^[1]

• strictly aerobic, light preferred
• mesophilic
• acidophilic (3.5–6.0 pH, optima of 4.5-5.0)
• bacteriochlorophyll (BChl a) and carotenoids production (salmon-pink colonies), the former contained zinc if grown in the presence of 1 mM zinc sulfate.
• chemo-organotrophic
• Gram-negative, as expected from a proteobacterium
• isolated from acidic hot springs and mine drainage
• non-motile
• cocci / coccobacilli
• Part of the major acidophilic alphaproteobacterial group with the genera Acidiphilium and Rhodopila

Etymology

The name Acidisphaera derives from:
Neo-Latin noun acidum (from Latin adjective acidus, sour), an acid; Latin feminine gender noun sphaera, a ball, globe, sphere; Neo-Latin feminine gender noun Acidisphaera, acid (-requiring) coccoid microorganism.
While the specific epithet rubrifaciens comes from the Latin adjective ruber -bra -brum, red; Latin v. facio, to make; Neo-Latin participle adjective rubrifaciens, red-producing.)

See also

• Bacterial taxonomy
• Microbiology

Notes and References

1. Web site: Acidisphaera rubrifaciens gen. nov., sp. nov., an aerobic bacteriochlorophyll-containing bacterium isolated from acidic environments -- Hiraishi et al. 50 (4): 1539 -- International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology . 2011-05-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20061208043725/http://ijs.sgmjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/50/4/1539 . 2006-12-08 . dead .