Recently, we have found that the glycerol metabolic pathway of a hyperthermophilic archaeon, Thermococcus kodakarensis KOD1, is quite simple to compare with those of other organisms. Also the regulation of the glycerol metabolism was found to be independent from the central metabolic pathway. Through the cultivation test of deletion mutant of three genes of glycerol metabolism and the further biochemical analysis of each product of those genes, glycerol is not used as the carbon source but used for cell adaptation to oxygen stress and osmotic stress in T. kodakarensis KOD1.
