science

Thermodesulfobacteriota

Thermodesulfobacteriota is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Thermodesulfobacteriota rather than just read about it. In short: The Thermodesulfobacteriota, or Desulfobacterota, are a phylum of anaerobic Gram-negative bacteria. Many representatives are sulfate-reducing bacteria, others can grow by disproportionation of various sulphur species, reduction or iron, or even use external surfaces as electron acceptors (exoelectrogens).

Key takeaways

Thermodesulfobacteriota belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Thermodesulfobacteriota to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Thermodesulfobacteriota from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Thermodesulfobacteriota, or Desulfobacterota, are a phylum of anaerobic Gram-negative bacteria. Many representatives are sulfate-reducing bacteria, others can grow by disproportionation of various sulphur species, reduction or iron, or even use external surfaces as electron acceptors (exoelectrogens). They have highly variable morphology: vibrio, rods, cocci, as well as filamentous cable bacteria. Individual members of Desulfobacterota are also studied for their bacterial nanowires or syntrophic relationships.

Taxonomy The bacterial phylum Desulfobacterota has been created by merging: 1) the well-established class Thermodesulfobacteria, 2) the proposed phylum Dadabacteria, and 3) various taxa separated from the abandoned non-monophyletic class "Deltaproteobacteria" alongside three other phyla: Myxococcota, Bdellovibrionota, and SAR324.

Environment In contrast to their close relatives, the aerobic phyla Myxococcota and Bdellovibrionota, Desulfobacterota are predominantly anaerobic. They likely retained their anaerobic lifestyle since before the Great Oxidation Event. Three closely related classes within Desulfobacterota: Thermodesulfobacteria, Dissulfuribacteria, and Desulfofervidia, as well as the more distant Deferrisomatia, are exclusively thermophilic, while most members of other classes are mesophiles or even psychrophiles.

Metabolism Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) utilize sulfate as a terminal electron acceptor in a respiratory-type metabolism, coupled to the oxidation of organic compounds or hydrogen. By reducing sulfate, many Desulfobacterota species substantially contribute to the sulfur cycle.

Microbial sulfur disproportionation (MSD) is a poorly known type of energy metabolism analogous to organic fermentation, where a single inorganic sulfur species of intermediate oxidation state is simultaneously oxidized and reduced, resulting in production of sulfide and sulfate. In Desulfobacterota, MSD is often present in species that also perform sulfate reduction. Sulfur oxidation is rare among Desulfobacterota. However, several strains are known to perform this type of metabolism using diverse mechanisms. Strain MLMS-1 (Desulfobacterota incertae sedis) couples oxidation of sulfide to reduction of arsenate. Dissulfuribacter thermophilus (Dissulfuribacteria) oxidizes elemental sulfur with dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium. Desulfurivibrio alkaliphilus (Desulfobulbia) couples oxidation of sulfide to the dissimilatory reduction of nitrate and nitrite to ammonium. Cable bacteria (Desulfobulbia), closely related to D. alkaliphilus, oxidize sulfide using a long-distance electron transport to oxygen or nitrate reduction — see below. The genome of strain M19 (also Desulfobulbia) encodes the Sox system of sulfur oxidation. Fe(III) minerals can be microbially reduced by Fe-reducing bacteria (FeRB) using a wide range of organic compounds or H2 as electron donors. FeRB are widespread across Bacteria. Among Desulfobacterota, they are represented e.g. by the genus Geobacter (Desulfuromonadia). Certain species of the families Geobacteraceae and Desulfuromonadaceae (Desulfuromonadia) are able to use external surfaces as electron acceptors to complete respiration. Species of the genus Geobacter use bacterial nanowires to transfer electrons to extracellular electron acceptors such as Fe(III) oxides.

Certain species of the class Syntrophia use simple organic molecules as electron donors and grow only in the presence of H2/formate-utilizing partners (methanogens or Desulfovibrio) in syntrophic associations.

The family Desulfobulbaceae contains two genera of cable bacteria: Electronema and Electrothrix. These filamentous bacteria conduct electricity across distances over 1 cm, which allows them to connect distant sources of electron donors and electron acceptors.

Notable species Desulfobulbus propionicus (Desulfobulbia), described in 1982 from mud samples in Germany, can serve as a biocatalyst in microbial electrosynthesis, i.e. the usage of electrons by microorganism to reduce carbon dioxide to organic molecules. Lawsonia intracellularis (Desulfovibrionia), described in 1995 from the intestines of pigs with proliferative enteropathy disease, is a highly pathogenic intracellular parasite. Oleidesulfovibrio alaskensis (Desulfovibrionia), described in 2004 from an oil well in Alaska, corrodes metals and reduces toxic radionuclides and metals such as uranium and chromium to less soluble and less toxic forms. Syntrophorhabdus aromaticivorans (Syntrophorhabdia), described in 2008 from industrial wastewater, is the first cultured anaerobe capable of degrading phenol to acetate in obligate syntrophic associations with a hydrogenotrophic methanogen. Dissulfuribacter thermophilus (Dissulfuribacteria), described in 2013 from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent, does not reduce sulfate and instead disproportionates elemental sulfur and other intermediate sulfur species. Ca. Desulfofervidus auxilii (Ca. Desulfofervidia), described in 2016 from Guaymas Basin sediments, is involved in the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) together with archaeal syntrophic partners.

Microscopy

Phylogeny

The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).

See also Bacterial nanowires Cable bacteria Exoelectrogen List of bacterial orders List of bacteria genera Sulfate reducing bacteria Sulfur cycle Syntrophy Thermophile

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thermodesulfobacteriota

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thermodesulfobacteriota claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Thermodesulfobacteriota before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Thermodesulfobacteriota ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Thermodesulfobacteriota

In research: Thermodesulfobacteriota appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Thermodesulfobacteriota in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Thermodesulfobacteriota is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bacteria phyla, Extremophiles, Thermodesulfobacteriota, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thermodesulfobacteriota outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Thermodesulfobacteriota” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Thermodesulfobacteriota in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Thermodesulfobacteriota means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Thermodesulfobacteriota out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Thermodesulfobacteriota in simple terms?

Why does Thermodesulfobacteriota matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Thermodesulfobacteriota?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Thermodesulfobacteriota.