Introduction
Most organisms on earth are able to live in their habitat under certain conditions. Others are able to live under very extreme conditions like extreme temperatures, pH, salinity, pressure and radiation just to name a few. These organisms are called extremophiles and they are polyphyletic. According to (Singh et al. 2011), microorganisms, but specifically bacteria are especially well adapted for surviving extreme conditions. Lately scientists have become very intrigued by extremophiles because of their biotechnological and commercial value to humans. Scientists are still at the beginning stages of being able to understand these organisms since very little research has been done on extremophiles prior to the current interest in them. The different categories of extremophiles will be discussed in this paper as well as a few examples of extremophiles and also what value those extremophiles add to the human existence.
Types of extremophiles
There are 14 categories of extremophiles according to Horikoshi et al. (2010). They are:
• Acidophiles which are organisms that can withstand very acidic environments below a pH of 4.
• Alkaliphiles are at the opposite of the spectrum being organisms that are able to live in very alkaline environments with pH values exceeding 10.
• The types of organisms that can survive inside rocks are endoliths which is another type of extremophile. Halophiles are organisms that love saline environments and they need a concentration of at least 1M of salt to grow.
• Hyperthermophiles can withstand very high temperatures up to 800C.
• Organisms that can live at extremely low temperatures on rocks are hypoliths.
• There are also those organisms that are able to overcome high levels of heavy metal...
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...ophiles occupy are so extreme that it can also be remote and therefore not the types of areas that humans would generally occupy. These range from volcanically active areas, to the icy regions of the poles and very high mountains (Horikoshi et al. 2010). Nevertheless we must continue the search.
Works Cited
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Horikoshi K, Antranikian G, Bull AT, Robb FT, Stetter KO (2010) (Eds.) Extremophiles Handbook. Springer-Verlag, London, pp 5-7 ISBN 978-4-431-53897-4
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Singh G, Bhalla A, Ralhan PK (2011) Extremophiles and extremozyrnes: Importance in current biotechnology. Extreme Life Biospeology & Astrobiology 3: 46-54
Homeostasis is the internal chemical balance that occurs in all living things. The concentration of hydrogen ions and hydroxide ion creates acids and bases. They are measured using the pH scale, which runs from 0 to 14. In the scale 7 is neutral. To be considered an acid, the concentration of the ion must be between 0 and 6, To be considered a base, the concentration of the ion must be between 8 and 14. Most living things have a concentration range from 5.6 to 8.5. There are many exceptions to this rule, such as the pH
Bacillus anthracis is a non-motile elongated rod-shaped bacterium that will generate dormant spores with or without oxygen. When the spores are exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide and warmth they adjust into a ro...
Biosphere The Realm Of Life. Authors: Robert A. Wallace, Jack L.King , Gerald P.Sanders – 1998
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The Artemia franciscana can survive in extreme conditions of salinity, water depth, and temperature (Biology 108 laboratory manual, 2010), but do A. franciscana prefer these conditions or do they simply cope with their surroundings? This experiment explored the extent of the A. franciscanas preference towards three major stimuli: light, temperature, and acidity. A. franciscana are able to endure extreme temperature ranges from 6 ̊ C to 40 ̊ C, however since their optimal temperature for breeding is about room temperature it can be inferred that the A. franciscana will prefer this over other temperatures (Al Dhaheri and Drew, 2003). This is much the same in regards to acidity as Artemia franciscana, in general thrive in saline lakes, can survive pH ranges between 7 and 10 with 8 being ideal for cysts(eggs) to hatch (Al Dhaheri and Drew, 2003). Based on this fact alone the tested A. franciscana should show preference to higher pH levels. In nature A. franciscana feed by scraping food, such as algae, of rocks and can be classified as a bottom feeder; with this said, A. franciscana are usually located in shallow waters. In respect to the preference of light intensity, A. franciscana can be hypothesized to respond to light erratically (Fox, 2001; Al Dhaheri and Drew, 2003). Using these predictions, and the results of the experimentation on the A. franciscana and stimuli, we will be able to determine their preference towards light, temperature, and pH.
1. Caldwell-Harris, C. L., Wilson, A. L., LoTempio, E., & Beit-Hallahmi, B. (2011). Exploring the
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Dr. Patricia Stock’s particular area of study does not include the biochemical investigation of their composition to find their chemical usefulness or the cure for cancer or anything of that nature. Her aim is simply to research and study the mutuality between the bacteria and their nematode hosts in order to better understand their evolutionary biology and pathogenesis.
Palevitz, Barry A. (1999, July). Global Warming: Organisms Feel the Heat. The Scientist 13(14), 1.
Microbes are everywhere in the biosphere, and their presence invariably affects the environment in which they grow. The effects
Thomas Siebold. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1999. 130. The ECB 130-137. Guth, Hans P. and Gabriel L. Rico. 1993.
Different types of bacteria have different range of temperature they are able to survive. They are generally divided into three types: psychrophiles, mesophiles and thermophiles. Psychrophilic bacteria are able to survive in low temperatures ranging from about -10 to 20°C while thermophilic bacteria are able to thrive in high temperatures ranging from 40 to 75°C. These two types of bacteria are also known as extremophiles due to their ability to survive in extreme conditions. Mesophilic bacteria are bacteria that thrive in temperatures ranging from 10 to 45°C and usually have an optimum growth temperature of about 37°C (M. Furlong, n.d.).
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