03.01.2007 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

Iron Rivets in Cellular Building Blocks

January 3rd 2007 The fact that Ferroplasma acidiphilum, a single-celled organism lacking a protective cell wall, is capable of living in sulfuric acid is already extraordinary. But what really makes the microbe unique is its unusual relationship to iron. Researchers in Braunschweig and Madrid have discovered that Ferroplasma acidiphilum not only extracts energy from iron – it "eats" the metal and leaves rust behind – but also uses it as an essential structure organising element for most of its cellular proteins.

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