Archaea Master List
Complete List of Extremophilic & Extremotolerant Archaea
Introduction
Domain Archaea contains the following...
Definitons
Acidophiles: This group includes organisms capable of thriving in hyperacidic conditions, most of which have an optimal growth pH of 5 or lower (OGpH<5)
Hyperacidotolerant, near-acidophilic neutriphiles: This group includes organisms that have an OGpH slightly above this (e.g., Nanoarchaeum equitans, OGpH=6) but can nonetheless be found flourishing in hyperacidic environments (pH=0.5-1.5).
Taxonomic/Phylogenetic Overview of Hypergeophilic & Hypergeotolerant Genera
- Domain: Archaea (>485x; >156*, 6**, 1***, 85†, 12††, 1†††, 176‡, 28*†, 1*†‡, 3†‡, 9††‡)
- Kingdom: Proteoarchaeota (93x; 60*, 57†, 24*†)
- Superphylum: TACK group (93x; 60*, 57†, 24*†)
- Phylum: Thaumarchaeota (23x; 23†)
- Phylum: Crenarchaeota (70x; 60*, 34†, 24*†)
- Kingdom: Archaea Incertae sedis → DPANN group
- Superphylum: DPANN group (9x; 3*, 9†, 3*†)
- Phylum: Candidatus Diapherotrites (1x; 1†)
- Phylum: Aenigmarchaeota (1x; 1†)
- Phylum: Nanoarchaeota (3x; 3*, 3†, 3*†)
- Phylum: DPANN Incertae sedis → Mancarchaeum (1x; 1†)
- Phylum: Candidatus Micrarchaeota (1x; 1†)
- Phylum: Candidatus Parvarchaeota (2x; 2†)
- Kingdom: Archaea Incertae sedis → euryarchaeota
- Superphylum: Archaea Incertae sedis → euryarchaeota
- Phylum: Euryarchaeota (>383x; >193*, 6**, 19†, 12††, 176‡, 1***, 1†††, 1*†‡, 3†‡, 9††‡)
“Hypergeophilic genera” and “hypergeotolerant genera” refer here to genera known to include hypergeophilic species and/or species with hypergeotolerances.
Genera containing thermophilic and hyperthermotolerant organisms are marked with an asterisk (*)
Genera containing barophilic and hyperbarotolerant organisms are marked with two asterisks (**)
Genera containing acidophilic and hyperacidotolerant organisms are marked with a dagger (†)
Genera containing alkaliphilic and hyperalkalitolerant organisms are marked with two daggers (††)
Genera containing thermoacidophilic and hyperthermoacidotolerant organisms are marked with an asterisk and a dagger (*†)
Genera containing halophilic and hyperhalotolerant organisms are marked with a double dagger (‡)
Bacteria marked with an asterisk and a degree sign (*°) are endospore-forming polyextremotolerant organisms. Bacterial endospores tend to give the bacteria capable of producing them polyextremotolerance. Endospores are known for being able to survive extremely high doses of radiation, vacuum dessication, extreme heat and cold, lack of nutrients, and in some cases even the passage of hundreds of millions of years (for example, Virgibacillus marismortui (formerly Bacillus marismortui and Bacillus strain 2-9-3) was revived by scientists from 250-million-year-old spores (Vreeland, 2000); for comparison, the first dinosaurs began appearing about 220 MYA — 30 million years later). Although these endospore-forming bacteria can survive a variety of harsh conditions, endospore-formation is not done for reproduction, as with fungal spore formation, but is instead a last-ditch effort to survive conditions the bacterium would not otherwise be able to, which means these critters aren’t true polyextremophiles, because they don’t (necessarily) actually grow better in extreme conditions, and in their endospore form don’t even grow at all.
In addition to other sources cited, much of this information was compiled with the help of NCBI’s Taxonomy Browser.
- Domain: Archaea (>485x; >156*, 6**, 1***, 85†, 12††, 1†††, 176‡, 28*†, 1*†‡, 3†‡, 9††‡)
- Kingdom: Proteoarchaeota (93x; 60*, 57†, 24*†)
- Superphylum: TACK group (93x; 60*, 57†, 24*†)
- Phylum: Thaumarchaeota (23x; 23†)
- Class: Nitrososphaeria (15x; 15†)
- Order: Nitrosopumilales (11x; 11†)
- Family: Nitrosopumilaceae (11x; 11†)
- Genus: Candidatus Nitrosoarchaeum (3x; 3†)
- Genus: Nitrosopumilus (8x; 8†)
- Order: Nitrososphaerales (4x; 4†)
- Family: Nitrososphaeraceae (4x; 4†)
- Genus: Candidatus Nitrosocosmicus (1x; 1†)
- Genus: Candidatus Nitrososphaera (3x; 3†)
- Class: Incertae sedis
- Order: Incertae sedis
- Family: Incertae sedis
- Genus: Candidatus Nitrosopelagicus (1x; 1†)
- Class: Incertae sedis
- Order: Incertae sedis
- Family: Incertae sedis
- Genus: Candidatus Nitrosotalea (4x; 4†)
- Class: Incertae sedis
- Order: Incertae sedis
- Family: Incertae sedis
- Genus: Candidatus Nitrosotenuis (3x; 3†)
- Phylum: Crenarchaeota (70x; 60*, 34†, 24*†)
- Class: Thermoprotei (69x; 60*, 33†, 24*†)
- Order: Desulfurococcales (4x; 4*)
- Family: Desulfurococcacae (2x; 2*)
- Genus: Aeropyrum (2x; 2*)
- Family: Pyrodictiacae (2x; 2*)
- Order: Sulfolobales (65x; 56*, 33†, 24*†)
- Family: Sulfobaceae (65x; 56*, 33†, 24*†)
- Genus: Acidianus (10x; 10*†)
- Genus: Metallosphaera (5x; 5†)
- Genus: Stygiolobus (1x; 1*†)
- Genus: Sulfolobus (45x; 45*, 13†, 13*†)
- Genus: Sulfurisphaera (1x; 1†)
- Genus: Sulfurococcus (3x; 3†)
- Class: Incertae sedis
- Order: Cenarchaeales (1x; 1†)
- Family: Cenarchaeaceae (1x; 1†)
- Genus: Cenarchaeum (1x; 1†)
- Kingdom: Archaea Incertae sedis → DPANN group
- Superphylum: DPANN group (9x; 3*, 9†, 3*†)
- Phylum: Candidatus Diapherotrites (1x; 1†)
- Class: Diapherotrites Incertae sedis → Iainarchaeum
- Order: Diapherotrites Incertae sedis → Iainarchaeum
- Family: Diapherotrites Incertae sedis → Iainarchaeum
- Genus: Iainarchaeum (1x; 1†)
- Phylum: Aenigmarchaeota (1x; 1†)
- Class: (unnamed?)
- Order: Aenigmarchaeales (1x; 1†)
- Family: (unnamed?)
- Genus: Aenigmarchaeum (1x; 1†)
- Phylum: Nanoarchaeota (3x; 3*, 3†, 3*†)
- Class: (unnamed?)
- Order: Nanoarchaeales (3x; 3*, 3†, 3*†)
- Family: Nanoarchaeaceae (1x; 1*, 1†, 1*†)
- Genus: Nanoarchaeum (1x; 1*, 1†, 1*†)
- Family: Nanopusillaceae (2x; 2*, 2†, 2*†)
- Genus: Nanobsidianus (1x; 1*, 1†, 1*†)
- Genus: Nanopusillus (1x; 1*, 1†, 1*†)
- Phylum: Incertae sedis
- Class: Incertae sedis
- Order: Incertae sedis
- Family: Incertae sedis
- Genus: Candidatus Mancarchaeum (1x; 1†)
- Phylum: Candidatus Micrarchaeota (1x; 1†)
- Class: Incertae sedis
- Order: Incertae sedis
- Family: Incertae sedis
- Genus: Candidatus Micrarchaeum (1x; 1†)
- Phylum: Candidatus Parvarchaeota (2x; 2†)
- Class: Incertae sedis
- Order: Incertae sedis
- Family: Incertae sedis
- Genus: Candidatus Parvarchaeum (2x; 2†)
- Kingdom: Archaea Incertae sedis → euryarchaeota
- Superphylum: Archaea Incertae sedis → euryarchaeota
- Phylum: Euryarchaeota (>383x; >193*, 6**, 19†, 12††, 176‡, 1***, 1†††, 1*†‡, 3†‡, 9††‡)
- Subphylum: Incertae sedis
- Class: Archaeoglobi (5x; 5*)
- Order: Archaeoglobales (5x; 5*)
- Family: Archaeoglobaceae (5x; 5*)
- Genus: Archaeoglobus (5x; 5*)
- Subphylum: Stenosarchaea (>180x; 176‡, 5†, 10††, 1†††, 3†‡, 1*†‡, 9††‡, 4*, 1**, 1***)
- Class: Stenosarchaea Incertae sedis
- Order: Candidatus Nanohaloarchaeota
- Family: Nanohaloarchaea
- Genus: Haloredivivus †‡
- Genus: Nanosalina *†‡
- Genus: Nanosalinarum †‡
- Class: Halobacteria (>170x; 169‡, 2†, 10††, 1†††, 9††‡, 1*, 1**, 1***)
- Order: Halobacteriales (>46x; >46‡, 1†, 4††, 1†‡, 4††‡)
- Family: Haloarculaceae (>16x; 16‡, 1††, 1††‡)
- Genus: Haloarcula (7x; 7‡)
- Genus: Halomicrobium (3x; 3‡)
- Genus: Halorhabdus (?‡)
- Genus: Halorientalis (?‡)
- Genus: Halosimplex (?‡)
- Genus: Natronomonas (6x; 6‡, 1††, 1††‡)
- Family: Halobacteriaceae (>20x; 1†, 3†† >20‡, 1†‡, 3††‡)
- Genus: Haladaptatus (4x; 4‡)
- Genus: Halalkalicoccus (2x; 2††, 2‡, 2††‡)
- Genus: Halarchaeum (1x; 1†, 1‡, 1†‡)
- Genus: Haloalcalophilium (1x; 1††, 1‡, 1††‡)
- Genus: Halobacterium (4x; 4‡)
- Genus: Halomarina (3x; 3‡)
- Genus: Halorussus (?‡)
- Genus: Natronoarchaeum (4‡)
- Genus: Salarchaeum (1x; 1‡)
- Family: Halococceae (10x; 10‡)
- Genus: Halococcus (10x; 10‡)
- Order: Haloferacales (91x; 1††, 1††‡, 91‡)
- Family: Haloferacaceae (36x; 36‡)
- Genus: Halobellus (9x; 9‡)
- Genus: Haloferax (14x; 14‡)
- Genus: Halopelagius (3x; 3‡)
- Genus: Haloplanus (9x; 9‡)
- Genus: Haloquadratum (1x; 1‡)
- Family: Halorubraceae (55x; 1††, 1††‡, 55‡)
- Genus: Halobaculum (3x; 3‡)
- Genus: Halogeometricum (1x; 1‡)
- Genus: Halogranum (4x; 4‡)
- Genus: Halolamina (6x; 6‡)
- Genus: Halonotius (4x; 4‡)
- Genus: Halorubrum (37x; 1††, 1††‡, 37‡)
- Order: Natrialbales (33x; 32‡, 1*, 1**, 1***, 1†, 5††, 1†††, 4††‡)
- Family: Natrialbaceae (33x; 32‡, 1*, 1**, 1***, 1†, 5††, 1†††, 4††‡)
- Genus: Halobiforma (3x; 3‡)
- Genus: Halopiger (6x; 6‡)
- Genus: Halostagnicola (?‡)
- Genus: Haloterrigena (?‡)
- Genus: Halovivax (?‡)
- Genus: Natrarchaeobaculum (1x, 1‡)
- Genus: Natrialba (7x; 1*, 1**, 1***, 1††, 1†, 1†††, 6‡, 1+
- Genus: Natrinema (7x; 7‡)
- Genus: Natronobacterium (2x; 2‡, 1††‡)
- Genus: Natronococcus (4x; 4‡, 3††‡)
- Genus: Natronolimnohabitans (1x; 1‡)
- Genus: Natronolimnobius (1x; 1‡)
- Genus: Natronorubrum (1x; 1‡)
- Class: Methanomicrobia
- Order: Methanomicrobiales
- Family: Methanomicrobiaceae
- Genus: Methanogenium (?x; ?*)
- Order: Methanosarcinales
- Family: Methanosarcinaceae
- Genus: Methanococcoides (?x; ?*)
- Genus: Methanosarcina (?x; ?*)
- Subphylum: Incertae sedis
- Class: Methanococci (2x; 1*, ?**)
- Order: Methacoccales (2x; 1*, ?**)
- Family: Methanococcaceae (2x; 1*, ?**)
- Genus: Methanocaldococcus (2x; 1*, ?**)
- Subphylum: Incertae sedis
- Class: Methanopyri (1x; 1*)
- Order: Methanopyrales (1x; 1*)
- Family: Methanopyraceae (1x; 1*)
- Genus: Methanopyrus (1x; 1*)
- Subphylum: Incertae sedis
- Class: Thermococci (182x; 182*, 5**, 1†, 2††)
- Order: Thermococcales (182x; 182*, 5**, 1†, 2††)
- Family: Thermococcaceae (182x; 182*, 5**, 1†, 2††)
- Genus: Pyrococcus (6x; 6*, ?**)
- Genus: Thermococcus (176x; 176*, 5**, 1†, 2††)
- Subphylum: Incertae sedis
- Class: Thermoplasmata (13x; 13†)
- Order: Methanomassiliicoccales
- Family: Methanomassiliicoccaceae
- Genus: Methanomassiliicoccus (?x; ?†)
- Order: Thermoplasmatales (12x; 12†)
- Family: Cuniculiplasmaceae (1x; 1†)
- Genus: Cuniculiplasma (1x; 1†)
- Family: Ferroplasmaceae (6x; 6†)
- Genus: Acidiplasma (2x; 2†)
- Genus: Ferroplasma (4x; 4†)
- Family: Picrophilaceae (2x; 2†)
- Genus: Picrophilus (2x; 2†)
- Family: Thermoplasmataceae (2x; 2†)
- Genus: Thermoplasma (2x; 2†)
- Family: Incertae sedis
- Genus: Thermogymnomonas (?x; 1†)