Topics:

Types of extreme environments present on Earth

Adaptations to cell structures required for survival in extreme
environments
Residents of extreme cold environments
Residents of hydrothermal environments
Residents of acidic environments
Residents of high salt environments
Residents of alkaline environments
Survival under conditions of high-level radiation exposure
Importance of extremophiles

Universal Tree of Life: 3 Domain System

Bacteria and Archaea are

both prokaryotes

Extreme Environments on Earth

1.

Sea Ice (extreme cold)

2.

Hydrothermal vents (extreme heat and high metal content)

3.

Sulfuric Springs (extreme heat and highly acidic)

4.

Salt Lake (extreme salt concentrations)

5.

Soda Lake (extreme salt concentration and highly alkaline)

Cellular Targets of Adaptations to Extreme

Environments
Typical Prokaryotic Cell
Cytoplasm: water,
proteins, metabolites,
salts

Nucleoid: Aggregated
DNA Chromosome

Typically lipid bilayer

Life on Ice

Over 75% of Earths biosphere is

permanently cold (< 5C)
Much of the life present in the cold
environs is planktonic growth of bacteria
and archaea in frigid marine waters (~104
cells/ml) (psychrophiles)
Identified using rRNA techniques
16S rRNA sequencing
Fluorescent rRNA DNA probes
At this point physiology of psychrophilic
archaea/bacteria undetermined
Cold adaptations: more fluid membranes,
more structurally flexible proteins
Psychrophilic cyanobacteria

Methanogenium
frigidum

Adaptations to Extreme Cold: Making More

Fluid Membranes

More fluid membranes result from putting unsaturated/polyunsaturated fatty acids into
the membrane

More Life on Ice: Algae

Algae living on the ice

(photosynthetic unicellular plant)
Lichen = symbiotic relationship
between algae and fungi

Phytoplankton

Krill

Polychaete Worms Living on Methane Ice

It is thought that the worms eat the bacteria that are growing on
the methane ice

Lake Vostoc: A model for Life on Europa?

Hydrothermal Vent Systems

Anatomy of A Vent

Hydrothermal Vents: Abiotic Conditions

Extremely hot temperatures (> 350C [hydrostatic pressure of 265 atm
prevents water from boiling until 460 C ])
Extremely high pressures up to 1,000 atm
Vents rich in minerals (eg. Iron oxides, sulfates, sulfides, manganese
oxides, calcium, zinc, and copper sulfides)
Hot waters anaerobic since solubility of oxygen decreases as water
temperature increases

Hydrothermal Vents: Biotic Community

Archaea and bacteria grow in or near vent chimneys, shown to
live and reproduce at temp. of 115C (hyperthermophiles)
As of 5 years ago believed highest upper temp. for life was 105
C, now expect hyperthermophiles may grow up to 160 C [limit of
ATP stability]
Rich microbial communities grow at some distance from vent
chimneys where temperatures are more moderate (8 - 12C) due to
mixing mixing with cold seawater (~2C)

Hydrothermal Vent Ecosystems: The Prokaryotes

Bacteria

Archaea

Methanococcus
janaschii (85C)

Pyrococcus furiosus
(100C)

Vent contact slide

Archaeoglobus fulgidus
(83C)

Aquifex aeolicus (95C)

Thermotoga maritima (90C)

Thermal Adaptations Used By Hyperthermophiles for

Survival
Membrane: ether-linked membrane-lipids,
monolayer membranes

Protein: hydrophobic protein core, salt

bridges, chaperonins

DNA: Cation stabilization (Mg2+), Reverse

DNA gyrase, DNA-Binding proteins (histones)

General: compatible solutes?

Histone and DNA

Hydrothermal Vent Ecosystem: Tube Worms

Vestimentiferan worms; Riftia pachyptile

Vent water is ~350o C with high H2S concentrations
Surrounding water is ~10-20oC
Gutless tubeworms (Riftia have a mutualistic symbiosis with aerobic
H2S- oxidizing bacteria (Thiomicrospira).

Endosymbiosis in Tubeworms

Hydrothermal Vent Ecosystems: Bivalves

Calyptogena magnifica

Bathymodiolus thermophilus

Hydrothermal Vent Ecosystems: Snow

Flurries and Crabs

Flocs of sulfur bacteria

Galatheid crabs

And Where Theres Crabs, Octopi Are Not Far Behind

Continued

Topics:
Types of extreme environments present on Earth
Adaptations to cell structures required for survival in extreme
environments
Residents of extreme cold environments
Residents of hydrothermal environments
Residents of acidic environments
Residents of high salt environments
Residents of alkaline environments
Survival under conditions of high-level radiation exposure
Importance of extremophiles

Extreme Environments on Earth

1.

Sea Ice (extreme cold)

2.

Hydrothermal vents (extreme heat and high metal content)

3.

Sulfuric Springs (extreme heat and highly acidic)

4.

Salt Lake (extreme salt concentrations)

5.

Soda Lake (extreme salt concentration and highly alkaline)

Life in Sulfur Springs (Hot and Acidic)

Abiotic conditions:
- high temperatures >30C
- low pH (< 4)
- high sulfur

Sulfur-oxidizing, acid-loving,
hyperthermophiles such as the
archaeon Sulfolobus have been
isolated from sulfur hot springs
Sulfolobus grows at 90oC, pH 1-5
Oxidizes H2S (or So) to H2SO4
Fixes CO2 as sole C-source

Acidophiles do not have low

internal pHs and have adapted to
keep protons outside the cell

Other Acidic Environments and Denizens

Acid mine drainage

Acidophilic archaeon, Picrophilus

oshimae, grows optimally at pH 0.7,
cannot grow above pH 4
Red alga Cyanidarium caldarium grows
at pH of 0.5
Archaeaon Ferroplasma acidarmanus
thrives in acid mine drainage at pH 0 (has
no cell wall)
Acidophiles studied to date appear to
have very efficient membrane-bound
Na+/H+ pumps and membranes with
low permeability to protons

High Salt Environments

Low biodiversity;

only home to halophilic

organisms belonging to Archaea, Bacteria and
some algae

Salt evaporation ponds

Great Salt Lake

Extreme halophiles require at least 1.5 M

NaCl for growth (most need 2 4 M NaCl for
optimum growth)
Celllysisoccursbelow1.5M
MembranesarestabilizedbyNa+
MaintainhighinternalK+Cltobalancehigh
externalNa+Cl
Anumberofhalophileshaveauniquetypeof
photosynthesis
Multiplelightsensitiveproteins
Halorhodopsin(Cltransport,creatingCl
gradientwhichdrivesK+uptake)
Bacteriorhodopsin(photosynthesis?)

Halophilic Algae
Photosynthetic flagellate
Red because of high
concentrations of beta-carotene
On sensing high salinity, pumps
out Na+ ions and replaces with K+
ions
Dunaliella salina

In high salt, will alter

photosynthetic pathway to produce
glycerol (water-soluble, nonionic
substance which prevents
dehydration) instead of starch

Halobacterium
salinarum and Lightmediated ATP
Synthesis

Halobacterium salinarum

Halobacterium contain
photopigments which are
used to synthesize ATP as
a result of proton motive
force generation

Retinal chromophore of
bacteriorhodopsin
transform

light
cisform

High Salt Alkaline Environments: Soda Lakes

Have very high pH (> 9) due to high
levels of CO32- ion
Very few organisms can tolerate
alkaline conditions (to date only
alkalophilic prokaryotes have been
isolated)

Lake Magadi (Soda lake in Kenya)

Most alkalophilic organism,

cyanobacterium Plectonema, grows at
pH of 13
Alkalophile adaptations: pumps to
pump out OH-, efficient Na+/H+ to
provide internal H+, modified
membranes

Cyanobacterium
Spirilina

Natronobacterium

Survival Under Conditions of High Level

Radiation Exposure: Deinococcus
radiodurans

Aerobic, mesophilic bacterium

Extremely resistant to desiccation, UV and ionizing
radiation
-- Can survive 3-5 million rads (100 rads is lethal for
humans)
Contain variable numbers (4-10) of chromosomes

DNA Damage Repair in Deinococcus radiodurans

Deinococcus
radiodurans has
very efficient DNA
repair machinery
DNA sheared by
radiation will
reform within 24h

Importance of Extremophiles:Extremozymes
Enzymes from extremophiles offer
some important potential benefits:
Hyperthermophiles
Sugar conversions without microbial
growth and contamination

Psychrophiles
Modification of flavor/texture of foods
without microbial growth & spoilage

Acidophiles
Removal of sulfur from coal & oil

Alkalophiles
Cellulases that can be used in
detergents

Importance of Extremophiles: Astrobiological

Implications
Extreme environments on Earth are
thought to be very similar to extreme
environments that exist elsewhere in space
Microorganisms that thrive in Earth
extreme environments are thought to be
likely candidates for the types of biota that
may exist in extraterrestrial habitats

Mars

Mars is postulated to have extremophilic

regions including permafrost,
hydrothermal vents, and evaporite crystals
Europa is thought to have a subsurface
ocean
Europa