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Thermophilic Microorganisms and Life at High Temperatures pp 255–302Cite as

The Genus Cyanidium

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Part of the book series: Springer Series in Microbiology ((SSMIC))

Abstract

One of the strange features of life in the Yellowstone hot springs is that during summer the microbial mats in those springs rich in blue-green algae are usually orange or yellow in color, whereas the springs that are strikingly blue-green in color do not contain blue-green algae, but instead the eucaryotic alga Cyanidium caldarium. Hot springs containing Cyanidium are always acidic, with pH values less than 4, and at temperatures above 40°C this alga is the sole photosynthetic component, since no photosynthetic bacteria such as Chloroflexus live in such acidic habitats. Because of the striking appearance of Cyanidium mats, the alga has been observed for a long time, and has been variously called Chroococcus varius (Tilden, 1898), Protococcus botryoides f. caldarium (Tilden, 1898), Pleurocapsa caldaria (Collins et al., 1901), Palmellococcus thermalis (West, 1904), Pluto caldarius (Copeland, 1936), Dermocarpa caldaria (Drouet, 1943), and Rhodococcus caldarium (Hirose, 1958). The name Cyanidium caldarium was first used by Geitler and Ruttner (1936) the same year that Copeland described the organism as Pluto, but despite the euphony of the latter name, the name Cyanidium has taken precedent. A photomicrograph of typical cells of C. caldarium is shown in Figure 9.1.

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  1. Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1550 Linden Drive, 53706, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    Thomas D. Brock

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© 1978 Thomas D. Brock

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Brock, T.D. (1978). The Genus Cyanidium . In: Thermophilic Microorganisms and Life at High Temperatures. Springer Series in Microbiology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-6284-8_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-6284-8_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-6286-2

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