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Extreme thermophilic bacteria thrive at any temperature above 40/50°C. Thermotoga Maritima seems to be the bacteria that can survive at the highest temperature up to 90°C (reference 1, table 2). I wonder if there is a more exhaustive list of extreme thermophilic bacteria and if there is a known bacteria that can survive at higher temperatures than Thermotoga Maritima.

References: Ref.1 Front. Microbiol., 05 November 2015 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.01209 Extremely thermophilic microorganisms as metabolic engineering platforms for production of fuels and industrial chemicals

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  • $\begingroup$ There is also the bacterium Aquifex pyrophilus which is reported to grow up to 95°C. I don’t know if this is the most extreme temperature reported for bacteria. $\endgroup$ – canadianer Jun 19 '20 at 15:23
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Geogemma barossii, initially designated Strain 121, can survive and reproduce at 121°C, with an optimal growth temperature of 103°C. It's not a bacterium though, but a member of the Archaea domain.

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  • $\begingroup$ Here is a link to an online lesson covering thermophilic and hyperthermophilic bacterial and archaea. courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-microbiology/chapter/… $\endgroup$ – MikeyC Jun 19 '20 at 14:15
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    $\begingroup$ Methanopyrus kandleri strain 116, another archaeon, is reported to grow up to 122°C with an optimum growth temperature of 105°C. In the paper they also explain that it is difficult to compare this species with others from different studies due to the dependence of growth temperatures on culture conditions. $\endgroup$ – canadianer Jun 19 '20 at 15:20

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