Microorganism requiring lower levels of oxygen than normally found in atmosphere
A microaerophile is a microorganism that requires environments containing lower levels of dioxygen than that are present in the atmosphere (i.e. < 21% O2; typically 2–10% O2) for optimal growth.[1] A more restrictive interpretation requires the microorganism to be obligate in this requirement.[2][3] Many microaerophiles are also capnophiles, requiring an elevated concentration of carbon dioxide (e.g. 10% CO2 in the case of Campylobacterspecies).[4]
The original definition of a microaerophile has been criticized for being too restrictive and not accurate enough compared to similar categories. The broader term microaerobe has been coined to describe microbes able to respire oxygen "within microoxic environments by using high-affinity terminal oxidase".[1]