Transcript Extremophiles- Life on the edge

Objective: Define Extremophile, give examples of conditions where
some extremophiles live and study one extremophile enough to write
a cartoon about its life.
Extraterrestrial
lifeUnder what
conditions can it
exist?
Images from NASA, http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/
If and when we find life in space,
what do you expect we’ll find?
What is an extremophile?
Organisms that live
where nothing else can
Extremozymesenzymes that work
under extremes
What happens to us at extremes?
• Temperature
• pH
• Salt concentration
Extreme conditions cause
proteins to denature, which is
why fevers can be dangerous.
Extremophile
“Extreme” “loving”
Thermophileshigh temperatures
Psychrophileslow temperatures
Chemical Extremes
Acidophile
Alkaliphile
Halophile
Dead Sea
Mono Lake- soda lake
More Extremophiles…
Endolith- Lives
inside rocks or pores
of minerals
Anaerobe- Lives
without the presence
of oxygen
Giardia
Life at the Extreme!
1. Carlsbad Caverns National Park: Lechuguilla Cave
2. Yellowstone National Park: Hot Springs
3. Great Salt Lake State Park
4. Cruise Ship over Hydrothermal Vents
5. Kamchatka
6. Indonesia: Kawah Ijen Lake
7. Deep sea trenches
Can life exist without carbon?
Chemolithoautotrophic (rock-eating) bacteria
These bacteria feed on the sulfur, iron, and manganese minerals
Can anything live in boiling water?
The bacteria produce colors which
depend on the temperature of the
water which favors one bacterium
over another.
heat-loving microbes include
photosynthetic algae, organic matter
degraders, and chemolithoautotrophic
(rock-eating) bacteria.
Our Cells can’t be frozen without
serious, long term damage.
Wood frogs can create an antifreeze-like
solution in their blood that lets them
literally freeze solid (no beating heart or
brain activity) until spring thaws then it
comes out unharmed.
Life in the Abyss
By Peter Tyson
Posted 03.30.99
NOVA
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/life-in-the-abyss.html
The location:
Hydrothermal Vents
*Pitch darkness
*poison gas
*heavy metals
*extreme acidity
*enormous pressure
*water both frigid & searing
The Organisms:
*Blind shrimp,
*giant white crabs
*Tubeworms
*Others
No Sunlight
No sunlight = no plants
Therefore - all vent life belongs to the animal kingdom.
All other life ever identified, on land or in the sea, gets its energy either directly
or indirectly from the sun.
Chemosynthesis: Energy from chemicals! Tiny microbes oxidize the hydrogen
sulfide that diffuses out of the vents, providing nutrients for animals higher up
the food chain.
Sea anemones and
barnacles flourish in
complete darkness,
drawing energy from
breaking down
highly toxic
chemicals found in
the smoke
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2081787/Hydrothermal-vents-Lost-worldunknown-species-Antarctic-sea-bed.html
Pressure is on
Normal Pressure: 14.7 pounds per square inch.
*The pressure on every part of this octopus's body is over 3,000
pounds per square inch.
*At such pressures, any air pockets, such as lungs, would be
crushed flat as a deflated balloon.
*Vent animals have evolved bodies with no such air spaces.
Acids and Toxins
In the vent:
*deadly toxicants.
*hydrogen sulfide
this gas is lethal to most organisms,
including many creatures that live
within wafting distance.
pH of waters coming out of black smokers:
2.8
There are "naked" snails around hydrothermal
vents that could not form their calcium carbonate
shells because the water was too acidic.
And the Winner is…
Tardigrades (Water Bears) can withstand:
*Temperatures from just above absolute zero to well above 100oC
*Pressures greater than any found in the deepest ocean trenches
*The vacuum of outer space
*Solar radiation, gamma radiation, ionic radiation— at doses hundreds of times
higher than would kill a person.
*They can go without food or water for nearly 10 years, drying out to the point
where they are 3% or less water, only to rehydrate, forage, and reproduce.
(source: wikipedia)
Your Task
Create a 3 to 5 picture comic strip telling
the story of your assigned extremophile.
Requirements:
3 to 5 pictures
One sentence captions with each picture.
Must read like an actual comic strip (story-like).
Description of environment must be included.
You may use Halftone on your iPad or hand draw.
Meet the Champions
1. Pyrolobus fumarii
2. Crypotendoliths
3. Alkaliphilic bacteria
4. Deinococcus radiodurans
5. Bacillus substilis
6. Halophilic bacteria
7. Foraminifera
Please
count off
by sevens!