biology

Vulcanisaeta

Vulcanisaeta is a biology 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 Vulcanisaeta rather than just read about it. In short: Vulcanisaeta is a genus of archaeans in the family Thermoproteaceae. Description and significance Vulcanisaeta is an anaerobic, heterotrophic, hyperthermophilic archaeon that grows optimally at 85–90 °C and at pH 4.0–4.5.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Vulcanisaeta is a genus of archaeans in the family Thermoproteaceae.

Description and significance Vulcanisaeta is an anaerobic, heterotrophic, hyperthermophilic archaeon that grows optimally at 85–90 °C and at pH 4.0–4.5. The organism is isolated from samples collected directly from solfataric fields or piped hot spring water in eastern Japan.

Genome structure Several Vulcanisaeta genomes have been sequenced, see List of sequenced archaeal genomes. The G + C content of its DNA, which is between 44 and 46%, is predicted to be relatively lower than other members of the Thermoproteaceae genera.

Cell structure and metabolism The cells of Vulcanisaeta are straight to slightly curved rods, which range from 0.4 to 0.6 μm in width. In some cases, the cells are branched or bear spherical bodies at the terminals. The archaeon utilizes maltose, starch, malate, yeast extract, peptone, beef extract, casamino acids and gelatin as carbon sources, cannot utilize D-arabinose, D-fructose, lactose, sucrose, D-xylose, acetate, butyrate, formate, fumarate, propionate, pyruvate, succinate, methanol, formamide, methylamine or trimethylamine. As electron acceptors, the organism uses sulfur and thiosulfate. Unlike some other genetically similar archaea such as Thermocladium or Caldivirga, Vulcanisaeta grows in the absence of vitamin mixture or archaeal cell-extract solution in the medium.

Ecology Strains of Vulcanisaeta were found in hot spring areas in Japan. Despite the organisms being the most common rod-shaped crenarchaeote among isolates from hot springs in Japan, it has not isolated from other countries. This contrasts with the genera Thermoproteus and Pyrobaculum, which are distributed worldwide, including the Azores, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Philippines, Russia, and the United States. Therefore, it is possible that the genus Vulcanisaeta has a restricted distribution that includes Japan.

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 List of Archaea genera

References

Further reading Jay ZJ; JP. Beam; MA. Kozubal; Rdem Jennings; DB. Rusch & Inskeep WP (December 2016). "The distribution, diversity and function of predominant Thermoproteales in high-temperature environments of Yellowstone National Park". Environmental Microbiology. 18 (12): 4755–4769. doi:10.1111/1462-2920.13366. PMID 27130276. Jay ZJ, Inskeep WP (July 2015). "The distribution, diversity, and importance of 16S rRNA gene introns in the order Thermoproteales". Biology Direct. 10 (35): 35. doi:10.1186/s13062-015-0065-6. PMC 4496867. PMID 26156036. Mavromatis, Konstantinos (2010). "Complete genome sequence of Vulcanisaeta distributa type strain (IC-017(T))". Standards in Genomic Sciences. 3 (2): 117–125. doi:10.4056/sigs.1113067. PMC 3035369. PMID 21304741. Itoh T; Suzuki K; Nakase T (2002). "Vulcanisaeta distributa gen. nov., sp. nov., and Vulcanisaeta souniana sp. nov., hyperthermophilic, rod-shaped crenarchaeotes isolated from hot springs in Japan". Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 52 (Pt 4): 1097–1104. doi:10.1099/ijs.0.02152-0. PMID 12148613. Burggraf S; Huber H; Stetter KO (1997). "Reclassification of the crenarchael orders and families in accordance with 16S rRNA sequence data". Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 47 (3): 657–660. doi:10.1099/00207713-47-3-657. PMID 9226896. Zillig W; Stetter KO; Schafer W; Janekovic D; Wunderl S; Holz I; Palm P (1981). "Thermoproteales: a novel type of extremely thermoacidophilic anaerobic archaebacteria isolated from Icelandic solfataras". Zentralbl. Mikrobiol. Parasitenkd. Infektionskr. Hyg. Abt. 1 Orig. C2: 205–227.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Vulcanisaeta

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Vulcanisaeta claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, 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 Vulcanisaeta 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 Vulcanisaeta 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 Vulcanisaeta

In research: Vulcanisaeta appears in biology 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 Vulcanisaeta 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: Vulcanisaeta is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Archaea genera, Archaea stubs, Thermoproteota, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Vulcanisaeta 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.

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How to study Vulcanisaeta in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Vulcanisaeta 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 Vulcanisaeta out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Vulcanisaeta in simple terms?

Vulcanisaeta is a genus of archaeans in the family Thermoproteaceae. Description and significance Vulcanisaeta is an anaerobic, heterotrophic, hyperthermophilic archaeon that grows optimally at 85–90 °C and at pH 4.0–4.5.

Why does Vulcanisaeta matter?

Because it connects several biology 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 Vulcanisaeta?

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 Vulcanisaeta.