‘Pyrococcus furiosus, 30 years on’

Pyrococcus furiosus has come of age. In 1986 the first publication on a remarkable microorganism, Pyrococcus furiosus, appeared. Now, 30 years later it is still “the fast and the furious“. Thirty years ago, a remarkable microorganism was described for the first time by Karl Stetter and coworkers (Fiala and Stetter, 1986) (Fig. 1). Its name, meaning furious fireball, was special and over the years may have fuelled the imagination of many, but it...