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Thermococcus Paralvinella, also known as T. paralvinella, is an anaerobic, hypothermophilic, and heterotrophic archaeon that is found in deep hydrothermal vents located in the Pacific Ocean. They are part of the genus Thermococcus, which contains thermophilic characteristics such as able to thrive at extremely high temperatures. This archaea species is known to live at depths between 200-1000 feet and at pH ranges from 5.6-8. T.Paralvinella is an irregularly shaped coccoid, with cell sizes ranging from 0.5-2um in diameter (Holden et al, 2000).

Cell Culture T. Paralvinella is a thermophile, and can be cultured at temperatures ranging from 60-80 degrees Celsius (Zhang et al, 2012). Cells must be grown in solution containing large amounts of carbon and nitrogen, since these nutrients affect cell growth the most. Since T. paralvinella does not produce all the necessary amino acids, it must be provided by the environment. These amino acids include leucine, isoleucine, and valine, and must be added to a T. paralvinella culture to enhance growth (Davidova et al, 2012). Cells grow best on elemental sulfur, and produce hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen gas in equal proportions (Jung et al, 2012).

Metabolism Thermococcus species use a different form of glycolysis compared to eukaryotes or bacteria. One example is a metabolic pathway that T. paralvinella uses to metabolize peptides. Peptidase first hydrolyzes the peptides into its individual amino acids, and these amino acids then gets converted to keto acids by the enzyme aminotransferase. Carbon dioxide is then released from oxidative decarboxylation of the keto acids, producing various derivatives of coenzyme A. These products can then be used for other metabolic pathways. T. paralvinella also can convert amino acids such as leucine and valine into acetyl-CoA or succinyl-CoA (Davidova et al, 2000).

Ecology T. Paralvinella thrives in hot environments, such as deep sea hydrothermal vents, as well as shallow marine thermal springs located in the Pacific Ocean (Holden et al, 1996). Some Thermococcus species can produce carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and hydrogen gas as waste products from metabolism. These compounds are used by many other autotrophic species and aids in adding diversity to otherwise lifeless hydrothermal communities (Zhang et al, 2012).

Genome The genome of Thermococcus consists of a circular chromosome 1,950,313 base pairs long, and contains 2,017 ORFs, 46 tRNAs, and one 16S rRNA gene. To protect against viruses, the chromosome has three CRISPR associated gene clusters, and five CRISPR loci (Jung et al, 2012)

References 1)	 Zhang, Y.; et al. (2012). "Sulfur Metabolizing Microbes Dominate Microbial Communities in Andesite-Hosted Shallow-Sea Hydrothermal Systems"

2)	Davidova, I. A.; et al. (2012). "Involvement of thermophilic archaea in the biocorrosion of oil pipelines". Environmental Microbiology.

3)	Holden, James F.; Summit, Melanie; Bolton, Sheryl; Zyskowski, Jamie; Baross, John A. (2000). "Diversity among three novel groups of hyperthermophilic deep-sea Thermococcus species from three sites in the northeastern Pacific Ocean"

4)	Baross J.A. Holden J.F. (1996) Overview of hyperthermophiles and their heat-shock proteins. Adv. Protein Chem.

5)	Jung, Jong-Hyun, et al. “Complete Genome Sequence of the Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Thermococcus Sp. Strain CL1, Isolated from a Paralvinella Sp. Polychaete Worm Collected from a Hydrothermal Vent.” Journal of Bacteriology, American Society for Microbiology Journals, 1 Sept. 2012, jb.asm.org/content/194/17/4769.full.