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SUMMARY: Thermoplasma acidophila is a free-living Mycoplasma which grows optimally at a temperature of 55 °C and a pH value of 2.0. Thermoplasma acidophila strains are resistant to lysis when suspended in distilled water. Organisms are also more resistant than other reported mycoplasmas to lysis by anionic and cationic surface active agents. Bacterial suspensions were unusually resistant to thermal lysis and were not affected even at temperatures of 100 βC. Although lysis did not occur at pH ranges of 1 to 7, rapid lysis occurred at pH values of 8 and above. These findings suggest that T. acidophila has an unusual membrane structure enabling this Mycoplasma to grow at high temperature and low pH.
Belly et al. (1972) studied this question.