Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 21, 2026

Laboratory Simulation of an IronII-rich Precambrian Marine Upwelling System to Explore the Growth of Photosynthetic Bacteria
Published on: July 24, 2016
Discovery and Characterization of Iron Sulfide and Polyphosphate Bodies Coexisting in Archaeoglobus fulgidus Cells
Daniel B Toso1, Muhammad Mohsin Javed2, Elizabeth Czornyj3
1Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Electron Imaging Center for Nanomachines, California NanoSystems Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; The UCLA Biomedical Engineering Interdepartmental Program, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 09905, USA.
Abstract:
Inorganic storage granules have long been recognized in bacterial and eukaryotic cells but were only recently identified in archaeal cells. Here, we report the cellular organization and chemical compositions of storage granules in the Euryarchaeon, Archaeoglobus fulgidus strain VC16, a hyperthermophilic, anaerobic, and sulfate-reducing microorganism. Dense granules were apparent in A. fulgidus cells imaged by cryo electron microscopy (cryoEM) but not so by negative stain electron microscopy. Cryo electron tomography (cryoET) revealed that each cell contains one to several dense granules located near the cell membrane. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) show that, surprisingly, each cell contains not just one but often two types of granules with different elemental compositions. One type, named iron sulfide body (ISB), is composed mainly of the elements iron and sulfur plus copper; and the other one, called polyphosphate body (PPB), is composed of phosphorus and oxygen plus magnesium, calcium, and aluminum. PPBs are likely used for energy storage and/or metal sequestration/detoxification. ISBs could result from the reduction of sulfate to sulfide via anaerobic energy harvesting pathways and may be associated with energy and/or metal storage or detoxification. The exceptional ability of these archaeal cells to sequester different elements may have novel bioengineering applications.
More Related Videos
14:55Analysis of Minerals Produced by hFOB 1.19 and Saos-2 Cells Using Transmission Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Microanalysis
Published on: June 24, 2018
12:36High-throughput Siderophore Screening from Environmental Samples: Plant Tissues, Bulk Soils, and Rhizosphere Soils
Published on: February 9, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Cell Inclusions
Microbes and Other Elemental Cycles
Diversity of Archaea III
Diversity of Archaea IV
Acid Mine Drainage
Sulfur Assimilation