Methylacidiphilum infernorum V4

Methylacidiphilum infernorum (isolate V4) is an extremely acidophilic aerobic methanotrophic bacterium isolated from the Hell's Gate (Tikitere), a methane-emitting geothermal field in the North of New Zealand. It is one of the first methanotrophic representative of the Verrucomicrobia, a diverse phylum that unites organisms with a remarkably broad range of lifestyles (many terrestrial and aquatic habitats), from intracellular parasites with some of the smallest known genomes to complex soil organisms. Methylacidiphilum infernorum , but also Acidimethylosilex fumarolicum (strain SolV) from Solfatara volcano mudpot (Italy), and Methyloacida kamchatkensis (strain Kam1) from an acidic hot spring in Kamchatka (Russia), are the the only known group of aerobic methanotrophs outside of the Proteobacteria phylum, and are by far the most acidophilic bacteria capable of methane oxidation The organism grows optimally at pH between 2.0 to 2.5 and temperature of 60 degrees Celsius when supplemented with 25% (v/v) methane as the sole source of energy. It is able to utilize methane as sole carbon source. M. infernorum possesses a streamlined genome but seems to have acquired numerous genes including those for enzymes of methylotrophic pathways via horizontal gene transfer, in particular, from Proteobacteria. (EBI Integr8)