Objective: Define Extremophile, give examples of conditions where some extremophiles live and study one extremophile enough to write a cartoon about its life.

Images from NASA, http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/

Extraterrestrial life-Under what conditions can it

exist?

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 canOrganisms that live where nothing else can

Extremozymes- enzymes that work

under extremes

Extremozymes- enzymes that work

under extremes

Extreme conditions cause proteins to denature, which

is why fevers can be dangerous.

• Temperature

• pH

• Salt concentration

What happens to us at extremes?

Extremophile“Extreme” “loving”

Extremophile“Extreme” “loving”

Psychrophiles-

low temperatures

Thermophiles- high temperatures

Chemical ExtremesChemical Extremes

AcidophileAlkaliphileHalophile

Dead Sea

Mono Lake- soda lake

More Extremophiles…

Endolith- Lives

inside rocks or

pores of minerals

Giardia

Anaerobe- Lives

without the

presence of

oxygen

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

Life at the Extreme!

Chemolithoautotrophic (rock-eating) bacteria

These bacteria feed on the sulfur, iron, and manganese minerals

Can life exist without carbon?

heat-loving microbes include photosynthetic algae, organic matter degraders, and chemolithoautotrophic (rock-eating) bacteria.

The bacteria produce colors which depend on the temperature of the water which favors one bacterium over another.

Can anything live in boiling water?

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.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/life-in-the-abyss.html

Life in the AbyssBy Peter TysonPosted 03.30.99NOVA

The Organisms: *Blind shrimp, *giant white crabs*Tubeworms*Others

The location: Hydrothermal Vents *Pitch darkness *poison gas *heavy metals *extreme acidity *enormous pressure *water both frigid & searing

No Sunlight

No sunlight = no plantsTherefore - 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-world-unknown-species-Antarctic-sea-bed.html

*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.

Pressure is on

Normal Pressure: 14.7 pounds per square inch.

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:

2.8There are "naked" snails around hydrothermal vents that could not form their calcium carbonate shells because the water was too acidic.

Acids and Toxins

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)

And the Winner is…

Your TaskCreate a 3 to 5 picture comic strip telling the story of your assigned

extremophile.

Requirements:3 to 5 picturesOne 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 fumarii2. Crypotendoliths3. Alkaliphilic bacteria 4. Deinococcus

radiodurans5. Bacillus substilis6. Halophilic bacteria 7. Foraminifera

Please count off

by sevens!