Mariprofundus

Mariprofundus ferrooxydans is a neutrophilic, chemolithotrophic, Gram-negative bacterium which can grow by oxidising ferrous to ferric iron. It is one of the few members of the class Zetaproteobacteria in the phylum Pseudomonadota. It is typically found in iron-rich deep sea environments, particularly at hydrothermal vents. M. ferrooxydans characteristically produces stalks of solid iron oxyhydroxides that form into iron mats. Genes that have been proposed to catalyze Fe(II) oxidation in M. ferrooxydans are similar to those involved in known metal redox pathways, and thus it serves as a good candidate for a model iron oxidizing organism.