Candidatus Desulforudis Audaxviator (IMAGE)
Caption
Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator (the purplish, blue rod-shaped cells straddling orange carbon spheres) is a species of bacteria that survives on H2 from radiolysis of water and sulfate derived from oxidation of pyrite by radolytically produced O2 and H2O2, and fixes CO2 and N2. Scientists originally found Ca. Desulforudis living within a fluid and gas-filled fracture 2.8 km beneath Earth's surface at Mponeng Gold Mine near Johannesburg, South Africa. Surprisingly, scientists found no other organisms in their samples, making this deep ecosystem the first found on Earth with only one species. The genus name Desulforudis comes from the Latin for "from sulfur" and "rod," noting its shape and its ability to get energy from sulfates. And audaxviator? From Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, and a message in Latin deciphered by Verne's protagonist, Professor Lidenbrock, which read in part: "descend, bold traveler, and attain the center of the Earth."
Credit
Image courtesy of Greg Wanger (California Institute of Technology, USA) and Gordon Southam (The University of Queensland, Australia)
Usage Restrictions
None
License
Licensed content