dictyoglomus thermophilum dictyoglomus thermophilum dictyoglomus is a genus of bacterium, given its own phylum, called the dictyoglomi. this organism is extremely thermophilic, meaning it thrives at extremely high temperatures. it is chemoorganotrophic, meaning it derives energy by metabolizing organic molecules. this organism is of interest because it elaborates an enzyme, xylanase, which digests xylan, a heteropolymer of the pentose sugar xylose. by pretreating wood pulp with this enzyme, paper manufacturers can achieve comparable levels of whiteness with much less chlorine bleach. dictyoglomus scientific classification domain: bacteria phylum: dictyoglomotapatel 2021 class: dictyoglomiapatel 2012 order: dictyoglomalespatel 2012 family: dictyoglomaceaepatel 2012 genus: dictyoglomussaiki et al. 1985 type species dictyoglomus thermophilumsaiki et al. 1985 species d. thermophilum saiki et al. 1985 d. turgidum corrig. svetlichny and svetlichnayá 1995 synonyms dictyoglomota: "dictyoglomaeota" oren et al. 2015 "dictyoglomi" patel 2010 "dictyoglomota" whitman et al. 2018 it has been described as gram-negative, with a triple-layered wall.