The Aquificae phylum is a diverse collection of bacteria that live in harsh environmental settings. They have been found in hot springs, sulfer pools, thermal ocean vents. Members of the genus Aquifex, for example, are productive in water between 85 to 95 °C. They are true bacteria (domain eubacteria) as opposed to the other inhabitants of extreme environments, the Archaea.
There is currently no consensus regarding the taxonomy of genera within Aquificae. One standard text[1] (http://www.im.microbios.org/25march04/07%20Griffiths.pdf) claims that only the genera Aquifex, Calderobacterium, Hydrogenobacter, and Thermocrinis belong in the Aquificales order. Another claims that, in addition to genera within the Aquificaceae and Hydrogenothermaceae families, the following genera are incertae sedis (unclassified), but within Aquificae: Balnearium, Desulfurobacterium, EX-H1 group, and Thermovibrio.
External links and references
- Reysenbach A-L, Phylum BI (2001) Aquificae phy. nov. In: Boone DR, Castenholz RW (eds) Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2nd edn., pp. 359–367
- Eubacteria classification (http://www.museums.org.za/bio/eubacteria/) from Iziko
- Taxonomic subtree (http://taxon.molgen.mpg.de/gettaxon?depth=3&prune=10000&taxid=32069) from the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Sciencept:Aquificae
