Why Are Halophiles Adaptive?

I obtained the results from the experiment supported my predictions because as the the concentration Na+ Cl- was increased from 5 mM to 10 mM (by adding more Na+ Cl-), the osmotic pressure also increased. However, after the membrane was changed to 50 MWCO, the Na+ Cl- molecules could diffuse easily through the membrane and did not caused an increase in osmotic pressure.

The water activity also plays a big role in the microbes ability to survive as most cannot grow in a water activity level less than 0.91. Based on observations and construction of a data table, it was shown that the 1% NaCl solution had a water activity level of 0.99, the 7% NaCl solution 0.96 and the 15% NaCl solution 0.91. Based on the table it was expected that there would be no growth in the 15% NaCl solution as most microbes cannot survive at a water activity level of 0.91.

The lobsters which were put in tanks of varying salinity adjusted their hemolymph osmolarity to that of the external environment, making Homarus americanus an osmoconformer. The tank which had the lowest salinity

Prokaryotes are ubiquitous, successfully adapting to diverse environments as well as developing symbiotic relationships with host organisms (Lengeler, Drews, & Schlegel, 1999). Prokaryotes may have both autotrophic and heterotrophic characteristics. A cyanobacteria is photosynthetic, commonly called blue-green algae, and may produce toxins (Crayton, 1993). Bacteria are most commonly associated in the general

There are many bacteria that do not go through cellular respiration; there are also some that do. These tiny organisms live in every habitat, including the air we breathe. Prokaryotes are grouped according to their need for oxygen. Obligate anaerobes are prokaryotes that cannot live in the presence of oxygen. In fact, exposure to oxygen for even a short length of time will kill these prokaryotes. They produce methane and are found at the bottom of lakes, in marshy areas, and in the digestive tracts of herbivores and omnivores. Bacteroides are a species of obligate anaerobic bacteria that live in mammalian intestines and help break down lipids and proteins into their smaller subunits, monomers. Clostridium difficile bacteria are often found

Abstract: The objective of this experiment is to find out what the optimal growth environment is for V. natriegens out of three different environments. The first is a Brain Heart Infusion broth (BHI) that contains 50 mM of NaCl. The second is BHI containing 250 mM of NaCl. The third is BHI containing 1000 mM NaCl. In order to obtain this, a growth curve graph must be constructed for each different environment, and the generation time of the bacteria in each environment must be calculated. The optimal environment for V. natriegens was found to be the BHI with 250 mM of NaCl.

This laboratory experiment was conducted to examine the effects of a non-ionic surfactant known as Triton X-100 on the viability of a ciliated unicellular eukaryote, Tetrahymena thermophila. Due to T. thermophila being a ciliated unicellular microorganism, with a very short doubling time through binary fission it excels at being an alternative model organism utilized in the field of toxicology (Orias et al., 2011). These advantages along with its direct applicability to the toxicant without any further preparation allow T. thermophila to be an ideal choice for this time constrained experiment when compared to other possible test organisms available.

When oxygen and nitrogen combine in water, it forms nitrate, which is an essential chemical for eukaryotic algae; however, cyanobacteria do not need nitrate for their survival, contrary, they use elemental nitrogen. This way, even after the evolution of true algae, even though in fewer quantity, cyanobacteria remained widespread, and oxygen was accumulated.

Hypersaline environments constitute typical examples of environments with extreme conditions due to their high salinity, exposure to high and low temperatures, low oxygen conditions and in some cases, high pH values. Bacteria and Archaea are the most widely distributed organisms in these

In biochemical test, which is base on the hydrolytic catalytic enzyme that show their main similarities between Halo bacterium Salinarum and Haloferax volcanii that focus from its result which show to be as negative that is turn out to be as gelatin and whether it can able to substantiate but it’s not possible as is too difficult to melt it. Concern from its illustration that it is been demonstrate on how negative effect is focus also from casein hydrolysis and from Tween 80 and Tween 20. But in Haloferax mediterranei it show the main difference that its result that show to be as positive but is also turn out on gelatin and how gelatin and casein can able to transform into amino acids that is determine from its source like carbon and other

Most life on earth is fueled directly or indirectly by sunlight. There are, however, certain groups of bacteria, referred to as chemosynthetic autotrophs, that are fueled not by the sun but by the oxidation of simple inorganic chemicals, such as sulfates or ammonia. Chemosynthesis is a process by which some organisms use chemical energy instead of light energy to make energy-storing carbon-based molecules. Chemosynthetic autotrophs are a necessary part of the nitrogen cycle. Some groups of these bacteria are well suited to conditions that would have existed on the earth billions of years ago, leading some to postulate that these are living representatives of the earliest life on earth. This view has been supported by the discovery of small

The concentration of solutes in the bodily fluids of most marine invertebrates is roughly isosmotic to their environment (Raven, 2008). Because there is no osmotic gradient there is no tendency for the net diffusion of water away from the animal’s cells to occur. When a change in salinity occurs some organisms have the ability to maintain a constant internal homeostasis despite these external changes and are known as osmoregulators (Oxford, 2008). Other animals lack this ability and as such are called osmoconformers; their internal osmolarity matches that of their

In this lab, I was mostly successful in confirming my hypotheses. In the first experiment, I hypothesized that if there are more children per generation, then it will increase the rate of evolution. I believed this to be true because there would be more opportunity for mutations. I chose this originally because of a statistical approach. However, after thinking about this week’s readings, it is very comparative to an argument that Dawkins made. His argument was that the more humans reproduce, the more we adapt and the more likely we are to survive (Dawkins, 2006). Adaptations are created by selfish genes wanting to survive. Therefore, the organisms that reproduce more are more likely to survive due to all of the adaptations that can create in a shorter amount of time. This can be shown in the table I have listed under experiment 1. As the number of children per generation increases, the number of generations it takes to create the target phrase, or genetic code for that adaptation, decreases. This can be shown in reverse too. This then proves my first hypothesis. My second hypothesis was also proven to be true because if you compare the data from the table under Experiment 1 to the data in the table under Experiment 2, then one can easily see that when the adaptation is simplified, then it will increase the rate of revolution, therefore, decreasing the number of generations it takes to create the target phrase/genetic code for adaptation. This can also be

The genus Dehalococcoides was originally discovered in 1997 with the discovery of Dehalococcoides ethenogenes (later renamed Dehalococcoides mccartyi Loffler et al. 2013). It was identified at Cornell University by Maymo-Gatell et al. (1997). The original source for Dehalococcoides spp. was an anaerobic sewage digester. Later studies revealed the original source to be from groundwater sites contaminated with chlorinated solvents (Seshadri et al. 2005). Dehalococcoides mccartyi was originally referred to as strain 195, it has the capability to fully dechlorinate chlorinated solvents like perchloroethylene (PCE) to ethene under anaerobic conditions. At the time, no species had been found that could accomplish the complete transformation to ethene (Maymo-Gatell et al. 1997). The cell wall for Dehalococcoides mccartyi

Halophiles have been commercially significant for centuries, with the earliest recorded case being that of ancient China and Middle East, where reddening of solar salterns as a result of growth of halophilic microorganisms was used as a biomarker of successful salt production (DasSarma et. al 2009). Today the role of halophilic organisms in salt production has evolved to facilitate rapid evaporation of salt crystals due to increased absorbance of light by their red-purple pigments. The purple membrane of the halophilic archaea that enables them to grow phototrophically and carry out phototactic responses contain the light-driven proton pump, bacteriorhodopsin, and sensory rhodopsins. Molecules like bacteriorhodopsin are especially of industrial interest because they are stable over a wide range of temperatures, usually between 0◦C and 45◦C, and pH values, usually between 1 and 11 (Ventosa and Nieto 1995). Moreover, the reactions of bacteriorhodopsin can be manipulated genetically, chemically or immunologically and are self-regenerative. Therefore, the ability of these biomolecules to convert the energy from light to chemical energy in a non-chlorophyll system has various industrial applications. For one, bacteriorhodopsin can be utilized as light sensors and for optical data processing or nonlinear optics. It is currently also being proposed for producing erasable photochromic film (Hampp et. al 1992). Furthermore, bacteriorhodopsin can also be used as a light sensor as they