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Microbial Ecology (BIOL 355) > Lecture 6: Extremophiles > Flashcards

Lecture 6: Extremophiles Flashcards

1
Q

What extreme conditions make extreme habitats?

A
  1. Temperature
  2. Pressure
  3. Salinity
  4. pH
  5. Radiation
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2
Q

Match the extremophile to their extreme habitat.

  1. Temperature
  2. Pressure
  3. Salinity
  4. pH

Halophiles
Barophiles
Thermophiles, psychrophiles
Acidophiles, alkaliphiles

A
  1. Thermophiles, psychrophiles
  2. Barophiles
  3. Salinity
  4. Acidophiles, alkaliphiles
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3
Q

List examples of natural and man-made thermophilic habitats.

A
  1. Natural
    - Geothermally heated oil
    - Geothermal and volcanic areas
    - Hydrothermal vents
  2. Man-made
    - Acid mine drainage
    - Biological wastes
    - Self-heated compost piles
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4
Q

What temperatures can white smokers vs. black smokers reach? What is the temperature of sea water?

A
  • White smokers: up to 73ºC
  • Black smokers: up to 400ºC
  • Sea water: 2ºC
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5
Q

What feeds chemoautotrophic bacteria in the ocean?

A

The chemical laden water escaping from cracks in the seafloor around the mid-ocean ridges

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6
Q

Which type of smoker is the most common type?

A

Black smokers

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7
Q

What causes the black chimneys in black smokers?

A
  • Black color is caused by the presence of iron and sulfur
  • When the iron monosulfide solidifies, it creates the black chimneys
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8
Q

Black smokers are _____ while white smokers are _____.
(hotter/coolor)

A
  1. hotter
  2. cooler
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9
Q

What causes the white chimneys in white smokers?

A
  • Contain more barium, calcium, and silicon
  • Create white chimneys, which are usually smaller than black chimneys
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10
Q

What do the arrows in the food web represent?

A

Arrows point in the order of energy transfer

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11
Q

List some terrestrial sulfuric environments.

A
  • Fumaroles
  • Geysers
  • Hot springs
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12
Q

What is the temperature and pH of hot springs?

A
  • Temp up to 100ºC
  • pH 1-12
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13
Q

What are the temperature ranges for thermophiles vs hyperthermophiles?

A
  • Thermophiles: 50-80ºC
  • Hyperthermophiles: >80ºC
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14
Q

What habitats do psychrophiles/psychrotolerants live in? (Hint: cold)

A
  • Deep ocean: 75% of Earth’s volume
  • Sea-ice: polar regions
  • Antarctica
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15
Q

What are the optimal temperatures for psychrophiles vs. psychrotolerants?

A
  • Psychrophiles: 15-20ºC
  • Psychrotolerants: >20ºC
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16
Q

What temperature adaptations have extremophiles developed?

A
  1. Lipids
    - Thermo: saturated, longer FAs –> maintain structure
    - Psychro: unsaturated, shorter FAs –> stay fluid
  2. Higher GC content: encodes thermostable amino acids (higher temp environments)
  3. Chaperonins (heat/cold shock proteins)
  4. Enzyme activity: used as a measure of how quickly things will degrade
    - Increased enzyme variability allows them to still be functional with a 10º change in temperature
17
Q

Barophiles function under _____ pressure.

18
Q

List some barophilic organisms.

A
  • Colwellia
  • Shewanella
  • Moritella
19
Q

Why are barophiles difficult to cultivate?

A

Cultivation requires maintenance of high pressure for many
- Usually need low temp and low light

20
Q

Which of the following are adaptations you would NOT expect to see in a polar, deep-sea bacterium?

A. Unsaturated lipids
B. Short-chain fatty acids
C. Chaperonin proteins
D. Saturated lipids

A

A. Unsaturated lipids
B. Short-chain fatty acids
C. Chaperonin proteins
D. Saturated lipids

21
Q

What are 2 hypersaline environments?

A
  1. Evaporative salterns, lakes, and ponds
    - Brines
  2. Antarctice brine ponds
    - Freezing mimics evaporation
    - >35 ppt salts
22
Q

What do thalassohaline and athalassohaline mean?

A
  • Thalassohaline = derived from seawater
  • Athalassohaline = salts derived from geology of terrestrial habitat
23
Q

What are some examples of athalassohaline environements?

A
  • Dead Sea
  • Great Salt Lake
24
Q

What are some organisms that can live in extreme hypersaline environments?

A
  1. Eukaryotic
    - Dunaliella: green algae
  2. Archaea
    - Haloarcula, Halorubrum,
    Haloquadratum
  3. Bacteria
    - Halomonas, Salinivibrio,
    Cyanobacteria
25
Give an overview of halophile physiology. 1. What stabilizes the cell wall? 2. What are the compatible solutes? 3. What is the function of bacteriorhodopsin pigments? 4. What is the function of carotenoids?
1. Na+ stabilizes cell wall 2. Compatible solutes - Archaea: ~5 M K+ actively pumped in from water - Bacteria: glycine-betaine, trehalose syntheiszed 3. Absorbs light 4. Protects cell DNA from UV induced radicals
26
List acidic habitats.
- Hot springs - Volcanic soils - Mining (acid-mine drainage)
27
What are some acidophilic microbes?
1. Fungi: generally more acidophilic than prokaryotes 2. Algae - Cyanidium (red alga) - Zygogonium (green alga) 3. Archaea - Picrophlius - Sulfolobus 4. Bacteria - Thiobacillus - Leptospirillum
28
List alkaliphilic habitats.
Soda lakes (pH ~10; bicarbonate and sodium rich) - Ex. East Africa Rift Lakes - Ex. Mono Lake, CA
29
What are some alkaliphilic microbes?
1. Archaea - Natronobacterium - Natronococcus 2. Bacteria - Cyanobacteria - Gram-positives (ex. Bacillus, Clostridium)
30
Give an overview of acidophilic/alkaliphilic physiology. 1. What is their internal pH usually? How low/high can be sometimes? 2. What stabilizes the membranes? 3. how do they generate proton motive forces?
1. Usually ~neutral, but may be as low as 2-3 and upwards of 8-9 2. Protons are used to stabilize membranes in acidophiles 3. Na+ is substituted for some purposes in both acidophiles and alkaliphiles
31
Changes in the use of ions for important structural or metabolic processes are important for which of the following habitats? A. Hydrothermal B. Hypersaline C. Acidic D. Both A & B E. Both B & C
32
What is the importance of microbial mats? How do microbial mats create biogeochemical gradients?
1. Forms a consortium of various metabolisms 2. Create biogeochemical gradients by each layer providing resources for the layer below it
33
What is the role of acidithiobacillus in caves?
Help dissolve limestone enlarging the cave
34
How do cave microbes retrieve energy?
Through oxidation of inorganic molecules
35
How do cave bacteria acquire carbon?
By accessing hydrocarbons in speleothems

Microbial Ecology (BIOL 355) (17 decks)

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