Metallosphaera prunae, isolated from a smoldering heap on a uranium mine in Thüringen, Germany, could be viewed as a…

“Metallosphaera prunae, isolated from a smoldering heap on a uranium mine in Thüringen, Germany, could be viewed as a “spontaneous mutant” of Metallosphaera sedula, an isolate from Pisciarelli Solfatara near Naples. Metallosphaera prunae tolerated triuranium octaoxide (U3O8) and soluble uranium [U(VI)] to a much greater extent than M. sedula. Within 15 min following exposure to “U(VI) shock,” M. sedula, and not M. prunae, exhibited transcriptomic features associated with severe stress response.”

inUranium extremophily is an adaptive, rather than intrinsic, feature for extremely thermoacidophilic Metallosphaera species.