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'Methanocaldococcus sp. FS406-22' is an archaea in the genus Methanocaldococcus. It is an anaerobic, piezophilic, diazotrophic, hyperthermophilic marine archaeon. The 16S rRNA gene of Methanocaldococcus sp FS406-22, is almost 100% similar to that of Methanocaldococcus jannaschii It was isolated from minimum temperature of this archaean at 92 degrees Celsius. Methanocaldococcus sp. FS406-22 is able to withstand extreme temperatures of hydrothermal vent fluid due to its ability to fix nitrogen and reduce it from N2 to NH3, a process otherwise known as nitrogen fixation.

Discovery
Methanocaldococcus sp. FS406-22 was isolated from deep-sea hydrothermal vent fluid. Hydrothermal vents are located on the ocean floor where plates are moving tectonically apart for example volcano sites and by mid ocean ridges. These mid ocean ridges provide a large supply of food for some aquatic marine animals. This vent was located on the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the Pacific Ocean near volcanic activity.  Mausmi P. Mehta and John A. Baross isolated strain FS406-22 in September 2004 during the New Millennum Observatory cruise. The Thomas G. Thompson vessel made this cruise possible and journeyed off to the Axial Volcano. A remotely operated vehicle (ROPOS) sampled vent fluid from marker 113 using a hydrothermal fluid and particle sampler (HFPS). Marker 113 is a vent located at 1525 meters deep in the southeast corner of the caldera. This vent was active before the last eruption of Axial Volcano in January 1998.

Physiology and Metabolism
Methanocaldococcus sp. FS406-22 is marine archaean considered anaerobic which means it does not need oxygen. It is also piezophilic meaning it is an extremophile that thrives under elevated pressure. Methanocaldococcus sp. FS406-22 is diazotrophic meaning it fixes nitrogen. Lastly, it is considered hyperthermophilic an extremophile that lives in an extremely hot environment like hydrothermal vent, which can range from 75 degrees Celsius to 110 degrees Celsius. The optimal temperature of growth is about 90 degrees Celsius, allowing it to thrive near volcanoes. Its genome size is 1.77 Million base pairs long and contains 1,893 protein-coding genes. It has a Guanine and Cytosine (GC) content of 32.04% and is motile via flagella. This particular strain of Methanocaldococcus is cocci in shape and not pathogenic to humans. Strain FS406-22 has an anaerobic metabolism, nitrogen-fixing metabolism, and is methanogenic. The electron acceptors consist of carbon dioxide, acetic acid, and nitrate. The electron donors are glutamine and carboxylic groups.

Genome and Phylogeny
The 16S rRNA gene of Methanocaldococcus sp. FS406-22, is almost 100% similar to that of Methanocaldococcus jannaschii DSM 2661. The only difference being that Methanocaldococcus sp. FS406-22 is a hyperthermophilic nitrogen fixing archaea and Methanocaldococcus jannaschii DSM 2661 is unable to fix nitrogen. Other related species and strains of Methanocaldococcus that are not as closely related include: Methanococcus aeolicus, Methanocaldococcus fervens, Methanotorris igneus, Methanocaldococcus infernus, Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, Methanococcus maripaludis, Methanothermococcus okinawensis, Methanococcus vannielii, Methanococcus voltae, and Methanocaldococcus vulcanius.

Significance
Methanocaldococcus sp FS406-22 is able to grow in these temperature extremes due to it’s ability to fix nitrogen and reduce it from N2 to NH3 in an optimum of 92 degrees Celsius. This is an extremely important discovery to the scientific community as this optimum reduction of 92 degrees Celsius is a total of 28 degrees Celsius higher than the current documented limit of biological nitrogen fixation. This particular discovery has potential to reveal a much wider range of conditions for life not only, in the seafloor biosphere but also, other ecosystems that are nitrogen limited.