Cold-loving bacteria. Coloured transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of a section through the bacteria Methanococcoides burtonii. The cell walls appear red, while the granular cell contents includes scattered genetic material. These psychrophilic (cold-loving) bacteria were discovered in 1992 in Ace Lake, Antarctica, and can survive in temperatures as low as -2.5 degrees Celsius. As methanogenic bacterium, they are able to form methane from carbon dioxide and hydrogen. As Archaebacteria, they are more primitive than true bacteria. As an extremophile it is able to live under extreme conditions, such as low temperature. Magnification: x25,000 at 6x7cm size.