Crenothrix is best described as which of the following?

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Multiple Choice

Crenothrix is best described as which of the following?

Crenothrix is a bacterium that oxidizes iron. It’s a filamentous, iron-oxidizing bacterium that can form iron-rich sheaths in water systems, gaining energy by converting ferrous iron (Fe2+) to ferric iron (Fe3+). This places it squarely in the microbial world as a living, single-celled organism. It isn’t a virus, which would lack cellular structure and its own metabolism; it isn’t a chemical compound; and it isn’t a fungus, which would be a different, eukaryotic type of organism.

Crenothrix is a bacterium that oxidizes iron. It’s a filamentous, iron-oxidizing bacterium that can form iron-rich sheaths in water systems, gaining energy by converting ferrous iron (Fe2+) to ferric iron (Fe3+). This places it squarely in the microbial world as a living, single-celled organism. It isn’t a virus, which would lack cellular structure and its own metabolism; it isn’t a chemical compound; and it isn’t a fungus, which would be a different, eukaryotic type of organism.

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