Rätselhafte Lebensgemeinschaft im Reich der Archaea. Die Feuerkugel und ihr Urzwerg |
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Authors: | Dr. Harald Huber Reinhard Rachel |
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Affiliation: | 1. Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie und Archaeenzentrum, Universit?t Regensburg, Universit?tsstra?e 31, 93053 Regensburg;2. Universit?t Regensburg |
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Abstract: | An enigmatical association of two Archaea The obligate anaerobic hyperthermophilic Nanoarchaeum equitans and Ignicoccus hospitalis represent a unique, purely archaeal biocoenosis which is mandatory for N. equitans. Its strong dependence on I. hospitalis is affirmed by the fact that its lipids and amino acids are obtained exclusively from the host. The Crenarchaeon I. hospitalis is characterized by energy production via reduction of elemental sulfur with molecular hydrogen and a novel CO2‐fixation pathway. It possesses a unique cell envelope for Archaea with an inner and an outer membrane, forming two cell compartments, the cytoplasm and a huge intermembrane compartment. By immuno‐analyses we demonstrated that the ATP synthase and H2:sulfur oxidoreductase complexes of I. hospitalis are located in the outer membrane. Thus I. hospitalis is the first Prokaryote with an energized outer membrane, ATP synthesis outside the cytoplasm, and spatial separation of energy conservation from information processing and protein biosynthesis. This raises many questions on the function and characterization of the two membranes, the two cell compartments, and a possible ATP transfer to N. equitans. |
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Keywords: | Hochtemperaturorganismen Lebensgemeinschaften zellulä re Kompartimentierung Energiegewinnung |
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