Question

Habitats of archae bacteria
Meanings for these words pls
1.extremophiles
2.thermophiles
3.psychrophiles
4.methanogens

Answer 1

Extremophiles" are organisms with the ability to thrive in extreme environments such as hydrothermal vents.
Since they live in “extreme environments” (under high pressure and temperature), they can tell us under which range of conditions life is possible.

The unique enzymes used by these organisms, called "extremozymes," enable these organisms to function in such forbidding environments. These creatures hold great promise for genetically based medications and industrial chemicals and processes.

It's important to note that these organisms are 'extreme' only from a human perspective. While oxygen, for example, is a necessity for life as we know it, some organisms flourish in environments with no oxygen at all.

Thermophile is an organism—a type of extremophile—that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between 41 and 122 °C (106 and 252 °F).Many thermophiles are archaea. Thermophilic eubacteria are suggested to have been among the earliest bacteria.

Thermophiles are found in various geothermally heated regions of the Earth, such as hot springs like those in Yellowstone National Park (see image) and deep sea hydrothermal vents, as well as decaying plant matter, such as peat bogs and compost.

Unlike other types of bacteria, thermophiles can survive at much hotter temperatures, whereas other bacteria would be damaged and sometimes killed if exposed to the same temperatures.

Professor Zachary Studniberg, from Cambridge University, wrote in his book The Function of Extremophiles that they are the most unusual organism on the planet in terms of their contribution to modern life.

As a prerequisite for their survival, thermophiles contain enzymes that can function at high temperatures. Some of these enzymes are used in molecular biology (for example, heat-stable DNA polymerases for PCR), and in washing agents.

"Thermophile" is derived from the Greek: θερμότητα (thermotita), meaning heat, and Greek: φίλια (philia), love.



Psychrophiles or cryophiles (adj. psychrophilic or cryophilic) are extremophilic organisms that are capable of growth and reproduction in low temperatures, ranging from −20 °C to +10 °C. They are found in places that are permanently cold, such as the polar regions and the deep sea. They can be contrasted with thermophiles, which are organisms that thrive at unusually high temperatures. Psychrophile is Greek for 'cold-loving'.

Many such organisms are bacteria or archaea, but some eukaryotes such as lichens, snow algae, fungi, and wingless midges, are also classified as psychrophiles.

Methanogens are anaerobic unicellular organisms, that release methane as a waste product of cellular metabolism. All of the methanogens are lithotrophs that can make their own energy only by methanogenesis, or the production of methane. They are found mostly in anaerobic freshwater environments, such as lake sediments and the digestive tracts of animals. In these habitats, methanogens play an important role in the degradation of complex organic compounds. Methanogens are also found in extreme environments such as hydrothermal vents, where they thrive at temperatures above 100ºC. Methanogens produce 109 tons of methane per year. About half is reoxidized by methanotrophic bacteria, but most of the rest escapes to the atmosphere, where it is a potent greenhouse gas