Methanothermococcus okinawensis

{{Short description|Species of archaeon}}

{{Speciesbox

| taxon = Methanothermococcus okinawensis

| authority = Takai et al. 2002

}}

Methanothermococcus okinawensis is a thermophilic, methane-producing archaeon first isolated from deep-sea hydrothermal vent on the western Pacific Ocean. Its cells are highly motile, irregular cocci, with a polar bundle of flagella. Its type strain is IH1^T (=JCM 11175^T =DSM 14208^T).{{cite journal|last1=Takai|first1=K.|title=Methanothermococcus okinawensis sp. nov., a thermophilic, methane-producing archaeon isolated from a Western Pacific deep-sea hydrothermal vent system|journal=International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology|volume=52|issue=4|year=2002|pages=1089–1095|issn=1466-5026|doi=10.1099/ijs.0.02106-0}} It grows at an optimal temperature of 60–65 °C and pH of 6.7. It is strictly anaerobic and reduces carbon dioxide with hydrogen to produce methane, but it can also use formate. Research studies indicate that it might be able to survive extreme conditions in solar system's other bodies, such as Saturn's moon Enceladus.{{cite journal|last1=Taubner|first1=R.-S.|display-authors=etal|title=Biological methane production under putative Enceladus-like conditions|journal=Nature Communications|volume=9|year=2018|number=748|page=748 |doi=10.1038/s41467-018-02876-y|pmid=29487311 |pmc=5829080|bibcode=2018NatCo...9..748T }}