Extremosuperstes acidogenii
15μm
As competition for sulfides grew in the hydrothermal features of Booreiland and amounts of inland soil created from weathering increased Extremosuperstes filtrum was able to escape the confines of Booreiland's geysers and gradually disperse into the surrounding soils where it adapted to the lower temperatures and lower amount of sulfides.
Extremosuperstes acidogenii is 15μm. It captures chemicals and nutrients, such as Hydrogen sulfide, phosphate, inorganic nitrogen, ions, etc from its surroundings with its tubular, feathery appendages where they are absorbed into the body through diffusion. They are then metabolized for energy, carbon fixation, and growth via structures that resemble an endoplasmic reticulum. It lacks a nuclei and a cell wall and reproduces asexually through mitosis in variable cycles due to the inconsistency of resources and more mesophilic temperatures, ranging from hours to 20 minutes. It has the potential to reproduce more quickly than its ancestor if resources are abundant because it is no longer at the mercy of the extreme heat potentially damaging its DNA and proteins during rapid reproduction.
E. acidogenii tends to live among the cracks created by Fungradi polarus' hyphae. To obtain more nutrients it releases elemental sulfur, a byproduct of oxidizing hydrogen sulfide, into the environment which reacts to form sulfuric acid that chemically weathers rock and releases more nutrients. It also releases a variety of enzymes that catalyzes the formation of sulfuric acid. This puts it in a mutualistic relationship with F. polarus because the combination of physical and chemical weathering more efficiently breaks up rocks creating for space for them to inhabit, to trap rainwater, and release nutrients that they can partition. If there is a lack of water E. acidgenii will go into a state where it stops releasing sulfur and enzymes, metabolic activity slows, and reproduction ceases until favorable environmental conditions reoccur. This dormancy allows them to not become resource deficit in the dry season and compete with other individuals during the wet season.
