Monday, April 6, 2009
Applications of extremophiles
Carroll discusses microbiologist Tom Brock's discovery of Thermus aquaticus in the beginning of chapter 3 and the subsequent creation of a new domain called Archaea. Thermus aquaticus live in "smoky, acidic, boiling" hot springs of Yellowstone park and have led to the scientific study of hyperthermophiles, or lovers of extremely high temperatures. What other types of extremophiles have had the same amount of practical success that Thermus aquaticus has had in the field of DNA diagnostics and forensics? Include examples and descriptions of other types of extremophiles and explain any scientific or real world applications that they may have.
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Many Archaea have the ability to live where no other life can. These extremophiles survive in extreme environments such as hotsprings. Methanogens have a unique way of obtaining energy by using CO2 to oxidize H2, producing methane as a waste product. They live in swamps and marshes where there is no oxygen left. Such as the Methanococcus that was discovered at the base of a “white smoker” chimney at 21°N on the East Pacific Rise.
ReplyDeleteAnother extremophiles are halophiles which live in saline places such as the Dead Sea. Some of these species actually require an environment ten times saltier than seawater to grow. The Dunaliella salina is found in sea salt fields. To survive, these organisms have high concentrations of β-carotene to protect against the intense light and high concentrations of glycerol to provide protection against osmotic pressure. Known for its anti-oxidant activity because of its ability to create large amount of carotenoids.
There are many famous thermophiles that thrive in hot environments. Microorganisms that can tolerate high temperatures, also called extremophiles, are found in hot springs, or deep-sea thermal vents. Pyrodictium, is found on geothermally heated areas of the seabed. It has a temperature minimum of 82o, optimum of 105o and growth maximum of 110oC. Cyanidium caldarium which grows around hot springs and has a temperature optimum of 45oC is also a famous thermophile.
http://www.theguardians.com/Microbiology/gm_mbm04.htm
http://www.livescience.com/animals/050207_extremophiles.html
As the post above said, extremophiles have the ability, and often need, to live in extreme environments, such as the hot temperatures that Carroll discussed. In Yellowstone National Park, Tom Brock and Hudson Freeze found Thermus aquaticus, which were thriving in the 200 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures. However, this species is not unique in the way that they can survive in these extreme conditions.
ReplyDeleteAnother example of an extremophile is Metallosphaera sedula. This is an example of an acidophile. Instead of craving extremely hot temperatures, like the organism Carroll discussed, this organism craves acidic environments where most organisms would be unable to live.
Over time, these acidophiles have evolved and developed a very efficient way to pump protons out of the intercellular space to keep the cytoplasm at a livable level of pH. However, not all acidophiles do this. Some have evolved so that the proteins themselves develop acid stability.
The hyperthermophiles that were discussed have the major problem with denatured enzymes. The extremely high temperatures change the shape of the active site on the enzymes, which is why so many organisms are unable to live in these conditions. Evolution has made it a selective advantage for the organisms to live in these areas and strive from their environments.
http://www.astrobiology.com/adastra/extremophiles.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acidophile_(organisms)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremophile
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ReplyDeleteExtremophiles are truly unique in the way they function and the environment that they live in. They live where other life is just not possible. Extremophiles live in all sorts of different environments. The environments can range from a very acidic to very basic environment or a very hot or very cold environment. An example of an extremophile is an acidophile. An Acidophile is an organism that thrives in very low acidic environments, like a ph of 2. A unique feature of these acidophiles is their ability to pump out protons out of their intercellular space to maintain the cytoplasm at a neutral ph. Since they cannot allow the low ph of the environment to break down their cell structure, they produce enzymes that prevent the harmful environment from breaking down their cell structure. They also could be used in mines, as excessive mining decreases the ph around the environment. So, acidophiles raise the speed of pyritic oxidation.
ReplyDeleteAnother extremophile would be osmophiles. Osmophiles thrive in high sugar concentrations. Osmophiles live in environments where there is low water activity. The high sugar concentration creates a high osmotic pressure, but they protect themselves by the synthesis of osmoprotectants such as alcohols and amino acids. They are important because they use spoilage in the sugar and sweet goods industry, such as juices, juice concentrates, and syrup.
Sources:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acidophiles_in_acid_mine_drainage#Biotechnology_applications
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmophile
http://www.theguardians.com/Microbiology/gm_mbm04.htm
An extremophile is an organism that thrives in and may even require physically or geochemically extreme conditions that are detrimental to the majority of life on Earth. Most known extremophiles are microbes. The domain Archaea contains renowned examples, but extremophiles are present in numerous and diverse genetic lineages of both bacteria and archaeans. As mentioned in the book, thermophiles use their specially designed enzymes not to denature in their hot waters sometimes as hot as 200° F. This is very important to their survival and can be applied to medical uses now. The enzymes of many extremophiles do not denature as easily as the ones in a human body. If people are facing diseases and need to be cured they can take the enzymes of an extremophile that can survive in the environment of the state of the body. This will let the body carry out its functions as well help it recover.
ReplyDeleteThere are many different classes of extremophiles, each corresponding to the way its environmental niche differs from mesophilic conditions. These classifications are not exclusive. Many extremophiles fall under multiple categories. For example, organisms living inside hot rocks deep under Earth's surface are both thermophilic and barophilic as mentioned in the book by Carroll. Other examples of extremophiles are Alkaliphile which is an extremophile that thrives in alkaline environments of pH of 9-11. This is done by pumping H+ ions in the form of H30+ into their cytoplasm. They like to maintain a pH of 8 inside their body. This could be applied to the electron transport chain because H+ ions need to be pumped through the ATP synthase to create ATP. If one is having a hard time to pump ions through, then somehow modify the mitochondria of the cells to include an Alkaliphile to assist in pumping the H+ ions through the ATP synthase.
http://www.theguardians.com/Microbiology/gm_mbm04.htm