Kingdom Fungi Class Sordariomycetes Family Chaetomiaceae Rank Species | Division Ascomycota Order Sordariales Genus Chaetomium | |
Similar Chaetomium, Thielavia, Chaetomiaceae, Chloracidobacterium, Myceliophthora thermophila | ||
Chaetomium thermophilum is a thermophilic filamentous fungus. It grows on dung or compost (rotten organics). It is notable for having a high temperature tolerance (60°C) yet being eukaryotic.
Research
Chaetomium thermophilum is a focus of research at the Biochemistry Department at Heidelberg University, Germany. Since fungi are eukaryotic and not distant from animals they are good models for comparative and easy-to-manipulate research, and in the case of C. thermophilum, it is of special significance. First, given the fact it is thermophilic, proteins derived from this fungus are heat stable and thus easier to work with. Proteins from C. thermophilum are thermophilic and thus better for studies (structural and biochemical) than comparable mesophilic fungi. The genome has been completely sequenced. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a model yeast, has 73% protein homology to this fungus. Studying nuclear pore complex proteins, it was found that protein isolation was more abundant and more soluble than in yeast (yeast proteins precipitate at a lower temperature).