DOCSLIB.ORG

Extremophiles

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Extremophiles Extremophiles These microbes thrive under conditions that would kill other creatures. The molecules that enable extremophiles to prosper are becoming useful to industry by Michael T. Madigan and Barry L. Marrs DEEP-SEA VENT HEAT-LOVING MICROBES (THERMOPHILES AND HYPERTHERMOPHILES) SEA ICE COLD-LOVING MICROBES (PSYCHROPHILES) Methanopyrus kandleri Polaromonas vacuolata thereby increasing efficiency and reduc- magine diving into a refreshingly ing costs. They can also form the basis of cool swimming pool. Now, think entirely new enzyme-based processes. I instead of plowing into water that tially serve in an array of applications. Perhaps 20 research groups in the U.S., is boiling or near freezing. Or consider Of particular interest are the enzymes Japan, Germany and elsewhere are now jumping into vinegar, household am- (biological catalysts) that help extremo- actively searching for extremophiles and monia or concentrated brine. The leap philes to function in brutal circumstanc- their enzymes. Although only a few ex- would be disastrous for a person. Yet es. Like synthetic catalysts, enzymes, tremozymes have made their way into many microorganisms make their home which are proteins, speed up chemical use thus far, others are sure to follow. As in such forbidding environments. These reactions without being altered them- is true of standard enzymes, transform- microbes are called extremophiles be- selves. Last year the biomedical field and ing a newly isolated extremozyme into cause they thrive under conditions that, other industries worldwide spent more a viable product for industry can take from the human vantage, are clearly ex- than $2.5 billion on enzymes for appli- several years. treme. Amazingly, the organisms do not cations ranging from the production of Studies of extremophiles have also merely tolerate their lot; they do best in sweeteners and “stonewashed” jeans to helped redraw the evolutionary tree of their punishing habitats and, in many the genetic identification of criminals life. At one time, dogma held that living cases, require one or more extremes in and the diagnosis of infectious and ge- creatures could be grouped into two ba- order to reproduce at all. netic diseases. Yet standard enzymes sic domains: bacteria, whose simple cells Some extremophiles have been known stop working when exposed to heat or lack a nucleus, and eukarya, whose cells for more than 40 years. But the search other extremes, and so manufacturers are more complex. The new work lends for them has intensified recently, as sci- that rely on them must often take spe- strong support to the once heretical pro- entists have recognized that places once cial steps to protect the proteins during posal that yet a third group, the archaea, assumed to be sterile abound with mi- reactions or storage. By remaining ac- exists. Anatomically, archaeans lack a crobial life. The hunt has also been fu- tive when other enzymes would fail, en- nucleus and closely resemble bacteria in eled in the past several years by indus- zymes from extremophiles—dubbed other ways. And certain archaeal genes try’s realization that the “survival kits” “extremozymes”—can potentially elim- have similar counterparts in bacteria, a possessed by extremophiles can poten- inate the need for those added steps, sign that the two groups function simi- 82 Scientific American April 1997 Copyright 1997 Scientific American, Inc. Extremophiles SODA LAKE ALKALI-LOVING MICROBES (ALKALIPHILES) ACID-LOVING MICROBES SULFURIC SPRING (ACIDOPHILES) Natronobacterium gregoryi Haloferax volcanii Sulfolobus acidocaldarius SALT-LOVING MICROBES (HALOPHILES) PUNISHING ENVIRONMENTS are SALT LAKE “home, sweet home” to extremophiles. The microbes shown are examples of the many found in the habitats depicted. larly in some ways. But archaeans also possess genes otherwise found only in eukarya, and a large fraction of archae- al genes appear to be unique. These un- long-term exposure to temperatures shared genes establish archaea’s sepa- higher than about 60 degrees C (140 rate identity. They may also provide new degrees F). an Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, grows O OSTI clues to the evolution of early life on Thermophiles that are content at tem- prolifically at temperatures as high as T OBER the earth [see box on pages 86 and 87]. peratures up to 60 degrees C have been 85 degrees C. They also showed that R known for a long time, but true extrem- microbes can be present in boiling water. Some Need It Hot ophiles—those able to flourish in greater Brock concluded from the collective heat—were first discovered only about studies that bacteria can function at eat-loving microbes, or thermo- 30 years ago. Thomas D. Brock, now higher temperatures than eukarya, and Hphiles, are among the best studied retired from the University of Wiscon- he predicted that microorganisms would of the extremophiles. Thermophiles re- sin–Madison, and his colleagues uncov- likely be found wherever liquid water produce, or grow, readily in tempera- ered the earliest specimens during a existed. Other work, including research tures greater than 45 degrees Celsius long-term study of microbial life in hot that since the late 1970s has taken sci- (113 degrees Fahrenheit), and some of springs and other waters of Yellowstone entists to more hot springs and to envi- them, referred to as hyperthermophiles, National Park in Wyoming. ronments around deep-sea hydrother- favor temperatures above 80 degrees C The investigators found, to their as- mal vents, has lent strong support to (176 degrees F). Some hyperthermo- tonishment, that even the hottest springs these ideas. Hydrothermal vents, some- philes even thrive in environments hot- supported life. In the late 1960s they times called smokers, are essentially nat- ter than 100 degrees C (212 degrees F), identified the first extremophile capable ural undersea rock chimneys through the boiling point of water at sea level. In of growth at temperatures greater than which erupts superheated, mineral-rich comparison, most garden-variety bacte- 70 degrees C. It was a bacterium, now fluid as hot as 350 degrees C. ria grow fastest in temperatures be- called Thermus aquaticus, that would To date, more than 50 species of hy- tween 25 and 40 degrees C (77 and 104 later make possible the widespread use perthermophiles have been isolated, degrees F). Further, no multicellular an- of a revolutionary technology—the poly- many by Karl O. Stetter and his col- imals or plants have been found to tol- merase chain reaction (PCR). About this leagues at the University of Regensburg erate temperatures above about 50 de- same time, the team found the first hy- in Germany. The most heat-resistant grees C (122 degrees F), and no micro- perthermophile in an extremely hot and of these microbes, Pyrolobus fumarii, bial eukarya yet discovered can tolerate acidic spring. This organism, the archae- grows in the walls of smokers. It repro- Extremophiles Copyright 1997 Scientific American, Inc. Scientific American April 1997 83 duces best in an environment of about counterparts in structure but appear to merase). Its high tolerance for heat led 105 degrees C and can multiply in tem- contain more of the ionic bonds and to the development of totally automat- peratures of up to 113 degrees C. Re- other internal forces that help to stabi- ed PCR technology. More recently, some markably, it stops growing at tempera- lize all enzymes. users of PCR have replaced the Taq tures below 90 degrees C (194 degrees Whatever the reason for their greater polymerase with Pfu polymerase. This F). It gets too cold! Another hyperther- activity in extreme conditions, enzymes enzyme, isolated from the hyperther- mophile that lives in deep-sea chimneys, derived from thermophilic microbes have mophile Pyrococcus furiosus (“flaming the methane-producing archaean Meth- begun to make impressive inroads in in- fireball”), works best at 100 degrees C. anopyrus, is now drawing much atten- dustry. The most spectacular example is A different heat-loving extremozyme tion because it lies near the root in the Taq polymerase, which derives from T. in commercial use has increased the ef- tree of life; analysis of its genes and ac- aquaticus and is employed widely in ficiency with which compounds called tivities is expected to help clarify how PCR. Invented in the mid-1980s by Kary cyclodextrins are produced from corn- the world’s earliest cells survived. B. Mullis, then at Cetus Corporation, starch. Cyclodextrins help to stabilize PCR is today the basis for the foren- volatile substances (such as flavorings in sic “DNA fingerprinting” that re- foods), to improve the uptake of medi- ceived so much attention during cines by the body, and to reduce bitter- OCK ness and mask unpleasant . BR odors in foods and medicines. THOMAS D Others Like It Cold, Acidic, Alkaline TION old environments are A Cactually more common than hot ones. The oceans, CE ADMINISTR which maintain an average A temperature of one to three degrees C (34 to 38 degrees UTICS AND SP F), make up over half the ONA OCK earth’s surface. And vast land . BR areas of the Arctic and Ant- TIONAL AER arctic are permanently froz- THOMAS D NA en or are unfrozen for only a EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS can also be extremely colorful. Halophiles account for the red- few weeks in summer. Sur- ness in salt collection ponds near San Francisco Bay in California (left), and thermophiles brighten prisingly, the most frigid plac- a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming (right). A glass slide dipped directly into es, like the hottest,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Where Less May Be More: How the Rare Biosphere Pulls Ecosystems Strings
    The ISME Journal (2017) 11, 853–862 OPEN © 2017 International Society for Microbial Ecology All rights reserved 1751-7362/17 www.nature.com/ismej MINI REVIEW Where less may be more: how the rare biosphere pulls ecosystems strings Alexandre Jousset1, Christina Bienhold2,3, Antonis Chatzinotas4,5, Laure Gallien6,7, Angélique Gobet8, Viola Kurm9, Kirsten Küsel10,5, Matthias C Rillig11,12, Damian W Rivett13, Joana F Salles14, Marcel GA van der Heijden15,16,17, Noha H Youssef18, Xiaowei Zhang19, Zhong Wei20 and WH Gera Hol9 1Utrecht University, Department of Biology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Utrecht, The Netherlands; 2Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany; 3Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany; 4Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig, Germany; 5German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; 6Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland; 7Center for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany & Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, South Africa; 8Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, CNRS, UMR 8227, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, F-29688, Roscoff Cedex, France; 9Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Wageningen, The Netherlands; 10Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Institute of Ecology, Jena, Germany; 11Freie Universtät Berlin,
    [Show full text]
  • Experimental and Statistical Analysis of Nutritional Requirements for the Growth of the Extremophile Deinococcus Geothermalis DSM 11300
    Experimental and statistical analysis of nutritional requirements for the growth of the extremophile Deinococcus geothermalis DSM 11300 Julie Bornot, Cesar Arturo Aceves-Lara, Carole Molina-Jouve, Jean-Louis Uribelarrea, Nathalie Gorret To cite this version: Julie Bornot, Cesar Arturo Aceves-Lara, Carole Molina-Jouve, Jean-Louis Uribelarrea, Nathalie Gor- ret. Experimental and statistical analysis of nutritional requirements for the growth of the ex- tremophile Deinococcus geothermalis DSM 11300. Extremophiles, Springer Verlag, 2014, 18 (6), pp.1009-1021. 10.1007/s00792-014-0671-8. hal-01268947 HAL Id: hal-01268947 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01268947 Submitted on 11 Mar 2019 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. OATAO is an open access repository that collects the work of Toulouse researchers and makes it freely available over the web where possible This is an author’s version published in: http://oatao.univ-toulouse.fr/22999 Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-014-0671-8 To cite this version: Bornot, Julie and Aceves-Lara, César-Arturo and Molina-Jouve, Carole and Uribelarrea, Jean-Louis and Gorret, Nathalie Experimental and statistical analysis of nutritional requirements for the growth of the extremophile Deinococcus geothermalis DSM 11300.
    [Show full text]
  • Science and Innovation: the Under-Fueled Engine of Prosperity
    Science and Innovation: The Under-Fueled Engine of Prosperity JULY 14, 2021 AUTHOR Benjamin F. Jones* ABSTRACT Science and innovation are central to human progress and national economic success. Currently, the United States invests 2.8% of GDP in research and development, which is supported by a range of public policies. This paper asks whether the United States invests enough. To answer that question, the conceptual case for government intervention and skepticism about that case are reviewed. The paper then turns to systematic evidence, including the very latest evidence, regarding the operation of the science and innovation system and its social returns. This evidence suggests a clear answer: We massively underinvest in science and innovation, with implications for our standards of living, health, national competitiveness, and capacity to respond to crisis. * Kellogg School of Management and National Bureau of Economic Research. Email: [email protected]. 1. Introduction Scientific and technological advances have long been recognized as engines of economic growth and rising prosperity. The fruits of these advances—instantaneous global communications, vaccines, airplanes, heart surgery, computers, skyscrapers, industrial robots, on-demand entertainment, to name a few—might seem almost magical to our ancestors from not-too-many generations ago. The power of this progress has been broadly evident since the Industrial Revolution and was recognized at the time, including by political leaders. As the British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli noted in 1873, “How much has happened in these fifty years … I am thinking of those revolutions of science which … have changed the position and prospects of mankind more than all the conquests and all the codes and all the legislators that ever lived.” Disraeli was talking of things like the steam engine, the telegraph, and textile manufacturing.
    [Show full text]
  • Arxiv.Org | Cornell University Library, July, 2019. 1
    arXiv.org | Cornell University Library, July, 2019. Extremophiles: a special or general case in the search for extra-terrestrial life? Ian von Hegner Aarhus University Abstract Since time immemorial life has been viewed as fragile, yet over the past few decades it has been found that many extreme environments are inhabited by organisms known as extremophiles. Knowledge of their emergence, adaptability, and limitations seems to provide a guideline for the search of extra-terrestrial life, since some extremophiles presumably can survive in extreme environments such as Mars, Europa, and Enceladus. Due to physico-chemical constraints, the first life necessarily came into existence at the lower limit of it‟s conceivable complexity. Thus, the first life could not have been an extremophile, furthermore, since biological evolution occurs over time, then the dual knowledge regarding what specific extremophiles are capable of, and to the analogue environment on extreme worlds, will not be sufficient as a search criterion. This is because, even though an extremophile can live in an extreme environment here-and-now, its ancestor however could not live in that very same environment in the past, which means that no contemporary extremophiles exist in that environment. Furthermore, a theoretical framework should be able to predict whether extremophiles can be considered a special or general case in the galaxy. Thus, a question is raised: does Earth‟s continuous habitability represent an extreme or average value for planets? Thus, dependent on whether it is difficult or easy for worlds to maintain the habitability, the search for extra- terrestrial life with a focus on extremophiles will either represent a search for dying worlds, or a search for special life on living worlds, focusing too narrowly on extreme values.
    [Show full text]
  • Extremely Thermophilic Microorganisms As Metabolic Engineering Platforms for Production of Fuels and Industrial Chemicals
    REVIEW published: 05 November 2015 doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.01209 Extremely thermophilic microorganisms as metabolic engineering platforms for production of fuels and industrial chemicals Benjamin M. Zeldes 1, Matthew W. Keller 2, Andrew J. Loder 1, Christopher T. Straub 1, Michael W. W. Adams 2 and Robert M. Kelly 1* 1 Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA, 2 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA Enzymes from extremely thermophilic microorganisms have been of technological interest for some time because of their ability to catalyze reactions of industrial significance at elevated temperatures. Thermophilic enzymes are now routinely produced in recombinant mesophilic hosts for use as discrete biocatalysts. Genome and metagenome sequence data for extreme thermophiles provide useful information for putative biocatalysts for a wide range of biotransformations, albeit involving at most a few enzymatic steps. However, in the past several years, unprecedented progress has been made in establishing molecular genetics tools for extreme thermophiles to the point Edited by: that the use of these microorganisms as metabolic engineering platforms has become Bettina Siebers, University of Duisburg-Essen, possible. While in its early days, complex metabolic pathways have been altered or Germany engineered into recombinant extreme thermophiles, such that the production of fuels and Reviewed by: chemicals at elevated temperatures has become possible. Not only does this expand the Haruyuki Atomi, thermal range for industrial biotechnology, it also potentially provides biodiverse options Kyoto University, Japan Phillip Craig Wright, for specific biotransformations unique to these microorganisms. The list of extreme University of Sheffield, UK thermophiles growing optimally between 70 and 100◦C with genetic toolkits currently *Correspondence: available includes archaea and bacteria, aerobes and anaerobes, coming from genera Robert M.
    [Show full text]
  • A Korarchaeal Genome Reveals Insights Into the Evolution of the Archaea
    A korarchaeal genome reveals insights into the evolution of the Archaea James G. Elkinsa,b, Mircea Podarc, David E. Grahamd, Kira S. Makarovae, Yuri Wolfe, Lennart Randauf, Brian P. Hedlundg, Ce´ line Brochier-Armaneth, Victor Kunini, Iain Andersoni, Alla Lapidusi, Eugene Goltsmani, Kerrie Barryi, Eugene V. Koonine, Phil Hugenholtzi, Nikos Kyrpidesi, Gerhard Wannerj, Paul Richardsoni, Martin Kellerc, and Karl O. Stettera,k,l aLehrstuhl fu¨r Mikrobiologie und Archaeenzentrum, Universita¨t Regensburg, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany; cBiosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831; dDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712; eNational Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894; fDepartment of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520; gSchool of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154; hLaboratoire de Chimie Bacte´rienne, Unite´ Propre de Recherche 9043, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Universite´de Provence Aix-Marseille I, 13331 Marseille Cedex 3, France; iU.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA 94598; jInstitute of Botany, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, D-80638 Munich, Germany; and kInstitute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 Communicated by Carl R. Woese, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL, April 2, 2008 (received for review January 7, 2008) The candidate division Korarchaeota comprises a group of uncul- and sediment samples from Obsidian Pool as an inoculum. The tivated microorganisms that, by their small subunit rRNA phylog- cultivation system supported the stable growth of a mixed commu- eny, may have diverged early from the major archaeal phyla nity of hyperthermophilic bacteria and archaea including an or- Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota.
    [Show full text]
  • And Thermo-Adaptation in Hyperthermophilic Archaea: Identification of Compatible Solutes, Accumulation Profiles, and Biosynthetic Routes in Archaeoglobus Spp
    Universidade Nova de Lisboa Osmo- andInstituto thermo de Tecnologia-adaptation Química e Biológica in hyperthermophilic Archaea: Subtitle Subtitle Luís Pedro Gafeira Gonçalves Osmo- and thermo-adaptation in hyperthermophilic Archaea: identification of compatible solutes, accumulation profiles, and biosynthetic routes in Archaeoglobus spp. OH OH OH CDP c c c - CMP O O - PPi O3P P CTP O O O OH OH OH OH OH OH O- C C C O P O O P i Dissertation presented to obtain the Ph.D degree in BiochemistryO O- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica | Universidade Nova de LisboaP OH O O OH OH OH Oeiras, Luís Pedro Gafeira Gonçalves January, 2008 2008 Universidade Nova de Lisboa Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica Osmo- and thermo-adaptation in hyperthermophilic Archaea: identification of compatible solutes, accumulation profiles, and biosynthetic routes in Archaeoglobus spp. This dissertation was presented to obtain a Ph. D. degree in Biochemistry at the Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa. By Luís Pedro Gafeira Gonçalves Supervised by Prof. Dr. Helena Santos Oeiras, January, 2008 Apoio financeiro da Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (POCI 2010 – Formação Avançada para a Ciência – Medida IV.3) e FSE no âmbito do Quadro Comunitário de apoio, Bolsa de Doutoramento com a referência SFRH / BD / 5076 / 2001. ii ACKNOWNLEDGMENTS The work presented in this thesis, would not have been possible without the help, in terms of time and knowledge, of many people, to whom I am extremely grateful. Firstly and mostly, I need to thank my supervisor, Prof. Helena Santos, for her way of thinking science, her knowledge, her rigorous criticism, and her commitment to science.
    [Show full text]
  • The Crystal Structure of Pyrococcus Furiosus Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase Reveals a Key Role for Oligomerization in Enzyme Stability at Extremely High Temperatures
    Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 95, pp. 2801–2806, March 1998 Biochemistry The crystal structure of Pyrococcus furiosus ornithine carbamoyltransferase reveals a key role for oligomerization in enzyme stability at extremely high temperatures VINCENT VILLERET*, BERNARD CLANTIN†,CATHERINE TRICOT‡,CHRISTIANNE LEGRAIN‡,MARTINE ROOVERS§¶, i VICTOR STALON†,NICOLAS GLANSDORFF‡§¶, AND JOZEF VAN BEEUMEN* *Laboratorium voor Eiwitbiochemie en Eiwitengineering, Universiteit Gent, Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Gent, Belgium; and †Laboratoire de Microbiologie, Universite´Libre de Bruxelles, ‡Institut de Recherches du Centre d’Enseignement et de Recherches des Industries Alimentaires, Commission de la Communaute´ Franc¸aise de Belgique, Re´gionBruxelles Capitale, §Laboratorium voor Erfelijkheidsleer en Microbiologie, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and ¶Vlaams Interuniversitair Instituut voor Biotechnologie, avenue E. Gryson 1, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium Edited by Max F. Perutz, Medical Research Council, Cambridge, United Kingdom, and approved January 5, 1998 (received for review September 8, 1997) ABSTRACT The Pyrococcus furiosus (PF) ornithine car- lating agent (8). The involvement of such a thermolabile bamoyltransferase (OTCase; EC 2.1.3.3) is an extremely heat- intermediate in the metabolism of extreme thermophilic mi- stable enzyme that maintains about 50% of its activity after croorganisms raises the question of which mechanisms protect heat treatment for 60 min at 100°C. To understand the it from decomposition at elevated growth temperatures. Re- molecular basis of thermostability of this enzyme, we have cent results suggest that in Thermus aquaticus and Pyrococcus determined its three-dimensional structure at a resolution of furiosus (PF), CP is protected from the bulk of the aqueous 2.7 Å and compared it with the previously reported structures phase by channeling between carbamoylphosphate synthetase of OTCases isolated from mesophilic bacteria.
    [Show full text]
  • Title Genomic Analysis of the Marine Hyperthermophilic Archaeon
    Genomic analysis of the marine hyperthermophilic archaeon Title Aeropyrum( Dissertation_全文 ) Author(s) Daifuku, Takashi Citation 京都大学 Issue Date 2015-03-23 URL https://doi.org/10.14989/doctor.k19034 学位規則第9条第2項により要約公開; 許諾条件により本文 Right は2019-08-01に公開 Type Thesis or Dissertation Textversion ETD Kyoto University 1. General introduction Chapter 1 General introduction Gene repertoires and genome organizations differ between closely related microbial organisms depending on the ecological characteristics of each habitat (Cohan and Koeppel 2008). The cyanobacterial Prochlorococcus spp. account for a significant fraction of primary production in the ocean (Goericke and Welschmeyer 1993) and show physiological features relevant to the different ecological niches within a stratified oceanic water column (Moore et al. 1998; West et al. 2001). The whole-genomic comparisons of the Prochlorococcus spp. strains show gross signatures according to this niche differentiation (Rocap et al. 2003). Alpha-proteobacterium Pelagibacter ubique which belongs to the SAR11 clade in the phylogenetic tree based on the 16S rRNA gene is the most abundant microorganism in the ocean (Morris et al. 2002). The genomes of the SAR11 isolates are highly conserved in the core genes that are common to all strains (Medini et al. 2005) and show synteny (the conservation of DNA sequence and gene order) (Bentley and Parkhill 2004). However, variations exist among genes for phosphorus metabolism, glycolysis, and C1 metabolism, suggesting that adaptive specialization in nutrient resource utilization is important for niche partitioning (Grote et al. 2012). This adaptation at the genomic level was also observed in archaea. The members of the genus Pyrococcus are anaerobic and hyperthermophilic archaea (Fiala and Stetter 1 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Counts Metabolic Yr10.Pdf
    Advanced Review Physiological, metabolic and biotechnological features of extremely thermophilic microorganisms James A. Counts,1 Benjamin M. Zeldes,1 Laura L. Lee,1 Christopher T. Straub,1 Michael W.W. Adams2 and Robert M. Kelly1* The current upper thermal limit for life as we know it is approximately 120C. Microorganisms that grow optimally at temperatures of 75C and above are usu- ally referred to as ‘extreme thermophiles’ and include both bacteria and archaea. For over a century, there has been great scientific curiosity in the basic tenets that support life in thermal biotopes on earth and potentially on other solar bodies. Extreme thermophiles can be aerobes, anaerobes, autotrophs, hetero- trophs, or chemolithotrophs, and are found in diverse environments including shallow marine fissures, deep sea hydrothermal vents, terrestrial hot springs— basically, anywhere there is hot water. Initial efforts to study extreme thermo- philes faced challenges with their isolation from difficult to access locales, pro- blems with their cultivation in laboratories, and lack of molecular tools. Fortunately, because of their relatively small genomes, many extreme thermo- philes were among the first organisms to be sequenced, thereby opening up the application of systems biology-based methods to probe their unique physiologi- cal, metabolic and biotechnological features. The bacterial genera Caldicellulosir- uptor, Thermotoga and Thermus, and the archaea belonging to the orders Thermococcales and Sulfolobales, are among the most studied extreme thermo- philes to date. The recent emergence of genetic tools for many of these organ- isms provides the opportunity to move beyond basic discovery and manipulation to biotechnologically relevant applications of metabolic engineering.
    [Show full text]
  • Ts2631 Endolysin from the Extremophilic Thermus Scotoductus Bacteriophage Vb Tsc2631 As an Antimicrobial Agent Against Gram-Negative Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria
    viruses Article Ts2631 Endolysin from the Extremophilic Thermus scotoductus Bacteriophage vB_Tsc2631 as an Antimicrobial Agent against Gram-Negative Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Magdalena Plotka 1,* , Malgorzata Kapusta 2, Sebastian Dorawa 1, Anna-Karina Kaczorowska 3 and Tadeusz Kaczorowski 1,* 1 Laboratory of Extremophiles Biology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdansk, 80-822 Gdansk, Poland 2 Department of Plant Cytology and Embryology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdansk, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland 3 Collection of Plasmids and Microorganisms, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdansk, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland * Correspondence: [email protected] (M.P.); [email protected] (T.K.); Tel.: +48-58-523-60-75 (M.P.); +48-58-523-60-67 (T.K.) Received: 5 June 2019; Accepted: 15 July 2019; Published: 18 July 2019 Abstract: Bacteria that thrive in extreme conditions and the bacteriophages that infect them are sources of valuable enzymes resistant to denaturation at high temperatures. Many of these heat-stable proteins are useful for biotechnological applications; nevertheless, none have been utilized as antibacterial agents. Here, we demonstrate the bactericidal potential of Ts2631 endolysin from the extremophilic bacteriophage vB_Tsc2631, which infects Thermus scotoductus, against the alarming multidrug-resistant clinical strains of Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and pathogens from the Enterobacteriaceae family. A 2–3.7 log reduction in the bacterial load was observed in antibacterial tests against A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa after 1.5 h. The Ts2631 activity was further enhanced by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), a metal ion chelator (4.2 log reduction in carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii) and, to a lesser extent, by malic acid and citric acid (2.9 and 3.3 log reductions, respectively).
    [Show full text]
  • Life at High Temperatures Biotechnology in Yellowstone
    Life at High Temperatures by Thomas D. Brock Biotechnology in Yellowstone © 1994 Yellowstone Association for Natural Science, History & Education, Inc. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190. The thermophilic bacteria that live in the Yellowstone hot springs have been the foundation of impressive developments in medicine and biotechnology. The unique thermostable enzymes of these bacteria are finding wide industrial and medical use, and have become the basis of a multimillion dollar industry! When researchers began to study the biology of Yellowstone hot springs in the 1960s, the presence of these hyperthermophilic bacteria was not suspected. The upper temperature limit for life was thought to be around 73 degrees C (163 degrees F), which was actually the limit for photosynthetic organisms such as cyanobacteria. The preferred temperature for thermophilic bacteria was considered even lower, around 55 degrees C (131 degrees F). Because of the known effects of heat on biological structures such as proteins and DNA, it was thought that life at higher temperatures would be impossible. In fact, biochemists have known for over 100 years that enzymes (key cellular proteins) are destroyed by boiling. However, field observations in Yellowstone showed that in certain springs bacteria existed at much higher temperatures. Although these springs were rather small and not especially conspicuous among the impressive geysers and giant hot pools of the Yellowstone thermal basins, they were impressive microbial culture systems and turned out to be of great scientific and intellectual interest. It turns out that the enzymes of Yellowstone thermophiles are very tolerant of heat and are active even at boiling water temperatures.
    [Show full text]