Dictyoglomus thermophilum

Dictyoglomus is a genus of bacterium, given its own phylum, called the Dictyoglomi. This organism is extremely thermophilic, meaning it thrives at extremely high temperatures. It is chemoorganotrophic, meaning it derives energy by metabolizing organic molecules. This organism is of interest because it elaborates an enzyme, xylanase, which digests xylan, a heteropolymer of the pentose sugar xylose. By pretreating wood pulp with this enzyme, paper manufacturers can achieve comparable levels of whiteness with much less chlorine bleach.

It has been described as Gram negative, with a triple-layered wall.

References

Further reading

• Li, He; Kankaanpää, Anna; Xiong, Hairong; Hummel, Michael; Sixta, Herbert; Ojamo, Heikki; Turunen, Ossi (December 2013). "Thermostabilization of extremophilic Dictyoglomus thermophilum GH11 xylanase by an N-terminal disulfide bridge and the effect of ionic liquid [emim]OAc on the enzymatic performance". Enzyme and Microbial Technology 53 (6-7): 414â€"419. doi:10.1016/j.enzmictec.2013.09.004. 

• Zhang, Wei; Lou, Kai; Li, Guan (2010). "Expression and Characterization of the Dictyoglomus thermophilum Rt46B.1 Xylanase Gene (xynB) in Bacillus subtilis". Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology 160 (5): 1484â€"1495. doi:10.1007/s12010-009-8634-8. 

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