Skip to main content
. 2021 Oct 14;12:768283. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.768283

Table 2.

Characteristics of the main members in Sulfolobales.

Species Cell shape/diameter (μm) Temp. and pH for growth DNA G+C content (mol%) Anaerobic growth (S0/Fe3+/S2O32−) Autotrophic growth-aerobic (S0/S4O62−/pyrite) Utilization of complex organics Utilization of sugars References
Sulfolobus
Sulfol. acidocaldarius L
0.8–1.0
55–80°C (opt. 70–75°C)
pH 1.0–5.9 (opt. 2.0–3.0)
36.7 Pyrite (w) Y.E./Pep./Try.
/C.A.
D-glucose/starch/sucrose Brock et al., 1972; Sakai and Kurosawa, 2018
Sulfol. yangmingensis L
0.8–1.5
65–90°C (opt. 80°C)
pH 2.0–6.0 (opt. 4.0)
42 ND/− S0/K2S4O6/FeS Y.E. D-arabinose/D-glucose/D-galactose/lactose/D-mannose/maltose/raffinose/sucrose Jan et al., 1999; Sakai and Kurosawa, 2018
Sulfol. tengchongensis IC
1.0–1.2
65–95°C (opt. 85°C)
pH 1.7–6.5 (opt. 3.5)
34.4 S0 Y.E./Try. D-arabinose/D-fructose/D-galactose/D-xylose/maltose/sucrose Xiang et al., 2003
Metallosphaera
M. sedula IC
0.8–1.2
50–80°C (opt. 75°C)
pH 1.0–4.5 (opt. 2.5)
45 S0/S4O62−/pyrite/sphalerite/chalcopyrite Y.E./Pep./Try./C.A./B.E. Huber et al., 1989; Auernik and Kelly, 2008; Peng et al., 2015
M. prunae IC
1.0
55–80°C (opt. 75°C)
pH 1.0–4.5 (ND)
46 S0/pyrite/sphalerite/chalcopyrite Y.E./Pep./B.E. Fuchs et al., 1995
M. hakonensis
(formally Sulfol. hakonensis)
L
0.9–1.1
50–80°C (opt. 70°C)
pH 1.0–4.0 (opt. 3.0)
46.2 S0/S4O62−/FeS/H2S Y.E. Takayanagi et al., 1996; Kurosawa, 2003
M. cuprina IC
0.9–1.0
55–75°C (opt. 65°C)
pH 2.5–5.5 (opt. 3.5)
42 S0/S4O62−/pyrite Y.E./Pep./Try./C.A./B.E. D-glucose/D-xylose/L-arabinose Liu et al., 2011a,b
M. tengchongensis IC
1.0–1.2
55–75°C (opt. 70°C)
pH 1.5–6.5 (opt. 3.5)
41.8 S0/S4O62−/pyrite Y.E./Pep./Try.
/C.A./B.E.
Peng et al., 2015
Sulfuracidifex
Sulfura. metallicus
(formally Sulfol. metallicus)
C/IC
1.5
50–75°C (opt. 65°C)
pH 1.0–4.5 (opt. 2–3)
38 S0/pyrite/sphalerite/chalcopyrite Y.E. Glycogen Huber and Stetter, 1991; Sakai and Kurosawa, 2018; Itoh et al., 2020
Sulfura. tepidarius IC
1.0–1.8
45–69°C (opt. 65°C)
pH 0.4–5.5 (opt. 3.5)
42.4 S0/FeS/FeS2/S4O62−/chalcopyrite Y.E./Pep./Try./C.A. Glucose/maltose/lactose/sucrose/fructose/glycogen/galactose/ Itoh et al., 2020
Sulfodiicoccus
Sulfod. acidiphilus IC
0.8–1.5
50–70°C (opt. 65–70°C)
pH 1.4–5.5 (opt. 3.0–3.5)
52 Y.E./Pep./Try./C.A./B.E. Arabinose/glucose/xylose/lactose/maltose/sucrose/raffinose/galactose Sakai and Kurosawa, 2017
Acidianus
A. infernus IC
0.5–2
65–96°C (opt. 90°C)
pH 1.0–5.5 (opt. 2.0)
31 S0 +H2
S0 +H2S
S0 Segerer et al., 1986; Plumb et al., 2007
A. brierleyi
(formally Sulfol. brierleyi)
IC
1–1.5
45–75°C (opt. 70°C)
pH 1.0–6.0 (opt. 1.5–2)
31 S0 +H2S
Fe3+ +H2S
S0/Fe2+ Y.E./Pep./Try.
/C.A./B.E.
Segerer et al., 1986; Plumb et al., 2007
A. ambivalens
(formally Desulfurolobus ambivalens)
IC
NA
NA-87°C (opt. 80°C)
pH 1.0–3.5 (opt. 2.5)
32.7 S0 +H2
S0 +H2S
S0 Plumb et al., 2007
A. tengchongenses C
1.2
55–80°C (opt. 70°C)
pH 1.0–5.5 (opt. 2.5)
38 S0 +H2 S0/S2O32− He et al., 2004
A. manzaensis C
0.5–0.8
60–90°C (opt. 80°C)
pH 1.0–5.0 (opt. 1.2–1.5)
29.9 Fe3+ +S0
Fe3+ +H2
S0 Y.E./Pep./Try.
/C.A./B.E.
glucose/lactose/mannose/sucrose Yoshida et al., 2006
A. sulfidivorans IC
0.5–1.5
45–83°C (opt. 74°C)
pH 0.35–3.0 (opt. 0.8–1.4)
31.1 S0 +H2S
Fe3+ +H2S
S0/Fe2+/pyrite/chalcopyrite/arsenopyrite Y.E./M.E. ND Plumb et al., 2007
Sulfurisphaera
Sulfuri. ohwakuensis C
0.9–1.3
60–91°C (opt. 84°C)
pH 1.5–6.0 (opt. 2.0)
32.9 S0 +H2
Fe3+ +Y.E.
S0/S4O62−/pyrite/FeS Y.E./Pep./Try.
/C.A./B.E.
Kurosawa et al., 1998; Tsuboi et al., 2018
Sulfuri. javensis IC
0.9–1.3
60–90°C (opt. 80–85°C)
pH 2.5–6.0 (opt. 3.5–4.0)
30.6 S0 +H2
Fe3+ +Y.E.
S0/S4O62−/S2O32−/pyrite/FeS Y.E./Pep./Try.
/C.A./B.E.
Tsuboi et al., 2018
Sulfuri. tokodaii
(formally Sulfol. tokodaii)
IC
1.0–1.3
60–96°C (opt. 80°C)
pH 1.5–6.0 (opt. 2.5–3.0)
32.8 Fe3+ +Y.E. S0/S4O62−/pyrite/FeS Y.E./Pep./Try.
/C.A./B.E.
D-glucose/D-galactose/D-fructose/lactose/maltose/sucrose/sorbose/raffinose Suzuki et al., 2002; Tsuboi et al., 2018
Saccharolobus
Sa. solfataricus (formally Sulfol. solfataricus) IC
0.8–2.0
50–87°C (opt. 87°C)
pH 3.5–5.0 (opt. 4.5)
35.8 Fe3+ +Y.E. Y.E./Pep./Try./C.A. D-arabinose/D-glucose/D-galactose/L-arabinoseD-mannose/lactose/maltose/raffinose/starch/sucrose Zillig et al., 1980; Sakai and Kurosawa, 2018
Sa. shibatae (formally Sulfol. shibatae) IC
0.7–1.5
55–86°C (opt. 81°C)
pH 1.5–6.0 (opt. 3.0)
35 Fe3+ +Y.E. Pyrite(w) Y.E./Pep./Try./C.A. D-arabinose/D-glucose/D-mannose/lactose/maltose/raffinose/starch/sucrose/L-arabinose Grogan et al., 1990; Sakai and Kurosawa, 2018
Sa. caldissimus IC
0.8–2.2
65–93°C (opt. 85°C)
pH 1.5–6.0 (opt. 3.0)
31.7 Fe3+ +Y.E. Pyrite Y.E./Pep./Try./C.A. D-arabinose/D-glucose/D-galactose/D-mannose/lactose/maltose/raffinose/starch/sucrose/L-arabinose Sakai and Kurosawa, 2018
Stygiolobus
S. azoricus C/IC
0.5–1.8
57–89°C (opt. 80°C)
pH 1.0–5.5 (opt. 2.5–3.0)
38 S0 Segerer et al., 1991
Sulfurococcus
Sulfuro. yellowstonii C
NA
40–80°C
NA
44.6 NA S0/Fe2+/sulfide minerals NA NA Karavaĭko et al., 1994

C, cocci; IC, irregular cocci; L, lobed; w, weakly; ND, no data; −, negative; NA, original detailed data not available; Y.E., yeast extract; Pep., peptone; Try., tryptone; C.A., casamino acids; B.E., beef extract; and M.E., meat extract.