Sulfolobus solfataricus

[1] It was first discovered and isolated from the Solfatara volcano (Pisciarelli-Campania, Italy) in 1980 by two German microbiologists Karl Setter and Wolfram Zillig.

Solfataricus are examined for their methods of DNA replication, cell cycle, chromosomal integration, transcription, RNA processing, and translation.

All of the data points to the organism having a large percent of archaeal-specific genes, which shows the differences between the three types of microbes: archaea, bacteria, and eukaryote.

Sulfolobus solfataricus is the most studied microorganism from a molecular, genetic, and biochemical point of view for its ability to thrive in extreme environments.

[25] Exposure of Saccharolobus solfataricus to the DNA damaging agents, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, bleomycin, or mitomycin C, induces cellular aggregation.

Ajon et al.[27] showed that UV-induced cellular aggregation mediates chromosomal marker exchange with high frequency.

[30] It uses a modified Entner-Doudroff pathway for glucose oxidation and the resulting pyruvate molecules can be totally mineralized in a TCA cycle.

[31] Other than organic molecules, this Archaea species can also utilize hydrogen sulfide[6] and elementary sulfur as electron donors and fix CO2, possibly by means of the HP/HB cycle,[30] making it also capable of living by chemoautotrophy.

This contrasts with most species within the Bacteria and Eukaryote groups of organisms, which generally rely on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrogen (NADH) as the main electron carrier.

[6][32] S. solfataricus is an extreme thermophile Archaea, as the rest of the species of the genus Sulfolobus, has optimal growth conditions in strong volcanic activity areas, with high temperatures and very acidic pH.

In fact, the most studied countries where these microorganisms were found are U.S.A. (Yellowstone National Park),[34] New Zealand,[35] Island and Italy, notoriously famous for volcanic phenomena.

[37] Today, in many fields of application, there is interest in using S. sulfataricus as a source of thermal stability enzymes for research and diagnostics as well as in the food, textile, cleaning, and pulp and paper industries.

Furthermore, this enzyme is overloaded due to its catalytic diversity, high pH, and temperature stability, increased to organic solvents and resistance to proteolysis.

[38][39] At present, tetra ester lipids, membrane vesicles with antimicrobial properties, trehalose components, and new β-galactooligosaccharides are becoming increasingly important.

[43] Sommaruga et al. (2014)[44] also improved the stability and reaction yield of a well-characterized carboxypeptidase from S. solfataricus MT4 by magnetic nanoparticles immobilizing the enzyme.

A new thermostable extracellular lipolytic enzyme serine arylesterase was originally discovered for their large action in the hydrolysis of organophosphates from the thermoacidophilic archaeon S. solfataricus P1.

Archaea lipids are a promising source of liposomes with exceptional stability of temperature, pH, and tightness against the leakage of solute.