Methanocalculus


Methanocalculus is a genus of archaeans in the order Methanomicrobiales, and is known to include methanogens.
The genome of Methanocalculus is somewhat different from other genera of methanogenic archaea, with less than 90% 16S [ribosomal RNA] similarity. The species within Methanocalculus also have a greater tolerance to salt than other microorganisms, and they can live at salt concentrations as high as 125 g/L. Some species within Methanocalculus are neutrophiles, and Methanocalculus natronophilus, discovered in 2013, is a strict alkaliphile.

Nomenclature

The name "Methanocalculus" has Latin roots: "methano" for methane and "calculus" for gravel. Overall, it means ''gravel-shaped organism that produces methane.''

Phylogeny

The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of [Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature] and National [Center for Biotechnology Information].