Bacteria

Methanospirillum hungatei

Methanospirillum hungatei is one of the most strictly anaerobic organisms on earth. It is a member of the relatively newly-discovered Domain of life – 'Archaea'. This novel organism was isolated from human sewage and produces large amounts of methane gas during the natural process of waste disposal.

The cells shown in the picture are confined within a tubular filament and separated from each other by a complex cell spacer. Studies on the membrane lipids of Archaea have led to discovery of their potential in human vaccine applications as immune system activators.