Microbes thrive even at the deep, chilly ocean floor
Microbes thrive even at the deep, chilly ocean floor
There are microbes everywhere. And other people possess superpowers that enable them to thrive in conditions that are both incredibly difficult and unpleasant. Extremophiles thrive in particular at the chilly and dark ocean’s bottom because they interact with other bacteria and consume poisons and pollutants. It’s interesting to note that their microbial activities can affect our planet’s temperature.
Whenever you turn, a microbe has probably existed before. You’ll undoubtedly find some interesting bacteria that call this location home, even in spots where you wouldn’t expect anything to grow. And some of these bacteria developed the ability to adapt to these unique or harsh circumstances. They’re incapable of surviving in everyday situations. Extreme circumstances or situations can include everything that we would deem uninhabitable. This can be radiation, toxicity, or extremely high or low temperature. In fact, some of these bacteria enjoy extremes. Additionally, these so-called extremophiles possess unique superpowers that enable them to thrive in hazardous environments, such as the ocean’s bottom.
How do extremophiles work?
As an illustration, so-called thermophiles and hyperthermophiles both thrive and grow at temperatures above 50℃ and 80℃, respectively. Nonetheless, psychrophiles prefer temperatures that are below 10℃. In addition, new, intriguing species are continually being discovered in the permafrost soils of the Arctic and Antarctic. To survive in locations that are exceedingly acidic or salty, such as saline lakes or acid mine drainages, certain extremophiles also possess superpowers. Moreover, additional extremophile microorganisms thrive in environments with high levels of toxic or metallic contamination as well as high pressure, such as the ocean’s deep sea.
Microbes are under a lot of stress in these severe situations, so they must change or they will not survive. Hence, in order to adapt to these difficult circumstances, bacteria are mutating more frequently or exchange more DNA with other species in these harsh situations. Here, we’ll examine microorganisms and extremophiles that thrive in the deep ocean. Microbial populations have created interesting adaptations to survive in this gloomy environment. They can also affect our planet’s climate from here.
Living in the deep water are extremophiles
Picture yourself 30 kilometers beneath the ocean’s surface: As sunlight cannot shine thus far, it is dark. While it is 2 to 3℃ chilly far from hydrothermal vents, it can suddenly reach 400℃. And because all that water is driving everything down so forcefully, there is a tremendous amount of pressure on the seafloor. Nonetheless, the ocean floor is teeming with merrily thriving, growing bacteria that relish their time together, feeding one another and maintaining our environment. These bacteria are capable of swimming in the open ocean. The majority of them cling to soil sediment particles and create biofilm there.
As you may expect, there isn’t much food or energy available in this environment. So it is crucial that microorganisms contact one another in this environment in order to trade food and knowledge. Because of this, many microbes in the deep water feed one another by generating unique substrates that other microbes enjoy eating. As deep-sea bacteria store atmospheric gasses like CO2 and digest toxins and pollutants, they are crucial for our global nutrient cycles. For instance, thermophilic bacteria like Desulfovulcanus ferrireducens and Oceanithermus profundus thrive at roughly 65℃ because they frequent hydrothermal vents. These extremophiles obtain their energy from oceanic organic acids and hydrogen gas.
Also, following recent oil spills, scientists discovered a large number of bacteria and fungus that can consume and decompose oil or petroleum. As a result, their demand for food rids our waters of these dangerous substances.
How deep-sea extremophiles modify
There is less oxygen available for bacteria to breathe the deeper you go in the water. Microbes were forced to find innovative sources of energy as a result. For instance, while Oceanithermus profundus prefers nitrogen gas, Desulfovulcanus ferrireducens mostly employs iron components for respiration and development. There are SO MANY bacteria devouring these iron and nitrogen gas components across the oceans. Hence, the iron and nitrogen cycle on the entire planet are impacted by all of their metabolic activity. But bacteria and microorganisms in the deep water have to adjust their diets as well. Extremophiles in the deep sea had to create defenses to endure the pressure and the cold of this hostile environment.
Proteins frequently lose their function when exposed to extremely low temperatures because they get distorted. Because this can ruin the entire bacterial cell, psychrophilic bacteria have “chaperones” that constantly scan the bacterium for misshapen proteins. The protein is subsequently helped by these chaperones to regain its normal form and function.
Bacteria that are extremely warm have unique membrane
Bacteria can also modify their membranes to adapt to hot and cold conditions. As you may already be aware, fat changes state from liquid to solid depending on the temperature. Furthermore. As lipids and fats make up the majority of bacterial membranes, thermophilic and psychrophilic bacteria must ensure that their membranes can withstand high temperatures. Thermophilic microorganisms harden their membranes to stop them from becoming excessively fluid and leaky at high temperatures. Psychromonas and Marinomonas, must, on the other hand, ensure that their membranes remain flexible at low temperatures. Fortunately, this unique barrier that can tolerate extreme cold also helps bacteria endure the intense pressure in the deep water. Also, piezophile bacteria create a lot of material and essentially overcrowd their cells with proteins to offset the pressure inside the cell. This seeks to maintain a high internal cell pressure in opposition to an externally applied high pressure.
Yet it is quite challenging to investigate such high pressure in a lab setting. Because of this, little is yet known about how deep- sea extremophiles adapt to pressure.
What the deep sea extremophiles can teach us
Despite the fact that we still don’t fully understand the interesting microbial life found underwater, experts are confident they will discover a variety of useful bacteria. Deep-sea bacteria have amazing ways to develop at high temperatures, whether they are acclimated to the cold or the hot. They, therefore, contain proteins that are perfectly functional at both ends of the temperature range. So, scientists believe that we could create proteins that are specifically tailored to our needs. To increase cleaning effectiveness or lower energy consumption, we might utilize them in homes or biotechnological applications.
Investigating how deep-sea bacteria impact our planet’s climate is another crucial step. Our oceans are getting warmer due to climate change, and this causes them to have less oxygen. This indicates that bacteria are probably adapting to these changes as well, which in turn affects the climate on a global scale. So, knowing how deep-sea microorganisms adapt to their environment aids in our knowledge of the entire effects of climate change. Then, perhaps, we will have a clue as to how to stop more harm to our lovely planet via means of microorganisms.
What are cable bacteria and they work?
What are cable bacteria and they work?
Long networks of bacteria known as “cable bacteria” move electrons among themselves. These microorganisms conduct electricity in this interesting bacterial cable.
Cable bacteria are multicellular bacterial organisms meaning many bacteria from the same family are living very closely together. They usually share the same food and nutrients and help each other out. This tightness makes the whole bacterial community stronger and often gives them new superpowers- like in this case, the multicellular cable bacteria can conduct electricity. Until now, researchers do not know much about cable bacteria, as they usually live in marine, freshwater, and salt-marsh sediments. Here, they often use unusual components like sulfur or sulfur complexes to gain energy and grow. Such conditions are pretty difficult to imitate. So currently, researchers are struggling to grow them in a lab. However, recent studies managed to find out what cable bacteria look like and how cable bacteria conduct electricity.
What do cable bacteria look like?
For this, researchers took water samples from different locations. They then visualized the cable bacteria with different spectroscopic techniques. With these machines, researchers can magnify the tiniest things and get high-resolution pictures of bacterial cells. They were able to see that a single “cable bacteria” is a multicellular creature. They look like long chains or cables. Researchers refer to these chains or cables as filaments, and they can be up to 7cm long.
What is the composition of cable bacteria?
The cable bacteria family is still being classified by researchers. Yet, they are currently aware that rod-shaped Gram-negative bacteria are cable bacteria. This indicates that the bacteria are enclosed and protected by an inner and an outer membrane. The periplasm, a liquid gap between the inner and outer membranes, is typically present. This area functions somewhat as a supple, flexible buffer zone between the two membranes. Nevertheless, with cable bacteria, each bacterial cell is encased in an inner membrane to safeguard the contents of the cell. As you can see, the entire arrangement does actually resemble a cable and insulates the inside-outside microorganisms. Essentially, it is how these bacteria received their name.
How do cable bacteria move electrons and conduct electricity?
Why did they even choose to create a digital currency? The quick action is to survive. So let’s examine this more closely. Cable bacteria are present in water sediments. These waters have a lot of oxygen in the highest layers close to the surface. They are also sulfur-rich in the deeper strata. Additionally, this oxygen-sulfur gradient is used by cable bacteria to carry electricity. These days, cable bacteria actually locate themselves parallel to the coast when there is oxygen in the sea. This shows that the cable has one end at the bottom, where sulfur is abundant, and the other end at the top, where oxygen is abundant.
Sulfur-breathing bacteria conduct electricity
The filament now functions as a half-cell. The sulfur is “breathed” by the bacteria in the deeper layers. An anodic half-reaction results in the production of electrons (e-) and protons (H+). These electrons then go up the cable to the upper portion of the cable while moving through the liquid periplasm. In this instance, the bacteria eat these electrons in a cathodic half-reaction to deplete oxygen. The metabolism of each cell includes these oxidation and reduction activities. This thereby maintains the life of every cell.
Yet, typically, both reactions take place inside of the same cell, allowing one cell to benefit from both processes’ energy simultaneously. It’s interesting to note that cable bacteria managed to separate the oxidation and reduction processes. As a result, the mechanisms of oxidation and reduction occur in distinct cells, with one reaction taking place in the cells at the bottom of the cable and the other in the cells at the top. But, they discovered a way to perform both activities using the cable as a single system. This is the truly amazing portion.
For the environment, what does it mean?
The cable bacteria’s peculiar metabolism has some intriguing consequences on their surroundings. In the deeper water layer, these processes generate protons, while in the top layer, they diminish them. This causes the pH in the deeper layer to decrease and the pH close to the surface to rise. Metal complexes may be mineralized or demineralized as a result. According to research, these processes of (de-)mineralization also have an effect on the geochemistry of the surrounding environment in the water. Yet, it is still unclear precisely how the metabolism of cable bacteria affects the environment and perhaps other species.
It is understandable that there are still a lot of unsolved concerns considering that the cable bacterium was only recently identified by experts. But I’m confident that we will learn a lot more fascinating information about them, and who knows- perhaps someday, bacteria will power batteries made of seawater.
Altering blood types due to bacteria
Altering blood types due to bacteria
Some gut bacteria have proteins that can separate the carbohydrates from our blood cells. This may result in temporary blood type changes that feed the germs.
We all know that our genes contain information about our blood types. And yet, it happened that individuals had a specific blood type at some point in their life. Scientists and medical professionals struggled to comprehend this occurrence for a long time. Up until they discovered that bacteria, with their incredible superpowers, were the cause of these altering blood kinds. When I initially read about this, I couldn’t stop asking myself questions like these:
- What might cause germs to alter blood type?
- How do they accomplish that?
- Is the change in blood type reversible?
- Can our body become confused by this “new” blood type?
- Could microorganisms be used for biotechnology to alter blood types?
- TDS
Continue reading to learn the answers.
Relating to blood types and the relevant carbohydrates
Let’s begin with the fundamentals. The type of blood we have is determined by the carbohydrates on the outside of our blood cells. Our blood cells’ sugar structures can vary between four different types, and these sugars are what are known as antigens. Your blood cells have the same three basic sugars on their surfaces regardless of the blood type you have. It’s possible that certain people’s blood cells have GalNac, an extra sugar. This person has blood type A, and this sugar molecule is the A antigen. Another individual might have extra sugar Gal on their blood cells. Because this person has blood type B, we refer to this sugar molecule as the B antigen.
Blood type changes caused by bacteria
The walls of our intestinal tracts contain the same sugars that are used to create our antigens. Hence, these antigens come into contact with the bacteria that reside in your gut. Moreover, bacteria find a method to utilize anything they come across in their habitat. For this reason, researchers were seeking the bacteria that alter our blood types in the human gut microbiota. In fact, researchers discovered that the hardly known bacterium Flavonifractor plautii has the ability to change blood types A and B into blood type O.
What bacterial processes sugar via
You must be wondering why bacteria developed the ability to separate carbohydrates from antigens. The cleaved sugars appear to be consumed by bacteria as food. They are not trying to alter our blood type. They only desire to eat and live! So don’t worry- this shift in blood type will only last a short while. The antigens that are encoded in our genes will be present as soon as the blood develops new blood cells.
TDS Hence, the shift in blood type will stay short
Researchers are working to improve this procedure and make it unstable in greater sizes. Bacteria changing blood types will undoubtedly be advantageous to biotechnology in many contexts. Is it beneficial to create higher quantities of type O blood in order to store up blood supplies.
The first transgenic animals made available are America are glofish
The first transgenic animals made available are America are glofish
“Seeing is believing with GloFish. In every sense, these are breathtaking!” If you visited the GloFish website, you would see some advertising above (GloFish, 2008). They are the first—and, to date, the only—transgenic animals made available to the general population in the United States. While the idea of beauty may differ from person to person, almost everyone would agree that it is essential (with the exception of California, pending a formal review of its potential environmental impact). An organism that has undergone genetic modification utilizing recombinant DNA technology is called a transgenic organism. This process may involve fusing DNA from different genomes or introducing foreign DNA into a genome.
The transgenic zebrafish (Danio rerio) subspecies known as “GloFish” have the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene added. Yet, not every GloFish is green. Instead, a variety of GFP gene constructs are known, each of which codes for a different colored phenotype, from brilliant red to luminous yellow. The GloFish is the first recombinant-DNA animal that has currently been given US Food and Drug Administration approval for “use” in humans. Their acceptance has drawn attention to crucial questions regarding whether and how many genetically modified animals should be made available to people. But how did scientists initially manage to produce these synthetic organisms? Recombinant DNA technology was developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, like many other genetic technologies in use today. Scientists discovered in the 1960s that cells mend DNA breaks by reassembling, or recombining, the damaged components. So, it was only a matter of time until scientists discovered the basic biological components required for recombination, understood how those components worked together and then attempted to control the recombining process on their own.
Recombinant organisms are built on early experiments.
While recombinant DNA technology initially appeared in the 1960s and 1970s, the fundamentals of recombination were known for a long time before that. Indeed, Frederick Griffith, an English medical officer researching the pneumonia-causing bacteria in London, first demonstrated what he called “genetic transformation” in 1928. In this case, living cells absorbed genetic material released by other cells and underwent phenotypic “transformation” due to the new genetic information. Oswald Avery continued Griffith’s research more than ten years later and discovered the changing molecule, which turned out to be DNA. These studies demonstrated that DNA may be transferred between lab-grown cells, altering the genetic phenotype of an organism. The notion that the genetic material was a particular substance that could be altered and transferred into cells was clearly debatable prior to this groundbreaking research. But, before the explosion in recombinant DNA could start, researchers would need to master the techniques for isolating and modifying specific genes in addition to DNA transfer.
Significant Advances in Recombinant DNA Technologies
Four significant advancements after these initial efforts helped create the first recombinant DNA organism (Kiermer, 2007). The first two advancements focused on how scientists discovered how to use enzymes to clip and paste DNA fragments from various genomes. The last two occasions entailed the invention of methods for introducing foreign DNA into fresh host cells.
More specifically, they demonstrated that the enzyme was capable of forming a 3′-5′-phosphodiester link between the 3′-OH end of one DNA fragment’s last nucleotide and the 5′-phosphate end of another fragment’s last nucleotide. The discovery of DNA ligase was the first of several crucial milestones that would eventually enable scientists to conduct their own recombination studies, including those that required merging DNA from various persons, including various species, rather than just that of a single individual.
The discovery of restriction enzymes, which cut DNA at particular sequences, was a second significant advancement in gene editing. While researching a phenomenon known as host-controlled restriction of bacteriophages, Swiss biologist Werner Arber and his colleagues discovered these enzymes around the same time as the first DNA ligases. Host-controlled restriction refers to the defense mechanisms that bacterial cells have developed to deal with these invading viruses. Bacteriophages are viruses that infect and frequently kill their bacterial host cells. One such method was identified by Arber’s team as being given by the host cell’s enzymatic activity. Because the relevant enzymes limit the development of bacteriophages, the scientists gave them the term “restriction enzymes.” Also, these researchers were the first to show that restriction enzymes harm bacteriophages that invade host cells by cleaving phage DNA at highly particular nucleotide sequences (now known as restriction sites). The discovery and characterization of restriction enzymes provided scientists with the tools to remove specific DNA fragments needed (or wanted) for recombination to take place.
Foreign DNA Injection into a New Host Cell
Although Griffith and Avery had decades previously shown that it was possible to introduce foreign genetic information into cells, this “transformation” was incredibly ineffective and used “natural” DNA as opposed to DNA that had been artificially altered. Scientists didn’t start effectively transferring genes into bacterial cells with vectors until the 1970s. Plasmids, which are tiny DNA molecules that naturally reside inside bacterial cells and multiply independently of a bacterium’s chromosomal DNA, was the first of these vectors. Stanley Cohen, a scientist at Stanford University, first realized the potential of plasmids as a DNA shuttle or vector. The existence of R factor-plasmids, or bacteria with plasmids that replicated autonomously inside the bacterial cell, was already known to scientists to exist in some bacteria. But nothing was known about how the various R factor genes worked. Cohen reasoned that if there were a system for experimentally introducing these R-factor DNA molecules into host bacterial cells, he and other researchers might be able to comprehend R-factor biology and determine precisely what it was about these plasmids that made bacteria resistant to antibiotics. He and his colleagues created that system by demonstrating that the addition of purified plasmid DNA (in this case, purified R-factor DNA) to calcium chloride-treated E. coli during transformation can genetically change the bacteria into antibiotic-resistant cells (Cohen et al., 1972).
Bacterial Recombinant Plasmids
The next year, Stanley Cohen and his coworkers created the first unique plasmid DNA from two distinct plasmid species that, when inserted into E. coli, contained all of the nucleotide base sequences and functionalities of both parent plasmids. In order to cleave the double-stranded DNA molecules of the two parent plasmids, Cohen’s team utilized restriction endonuclease enzymes. The scientists then rejoined, or recombined, the DNA fragments from the two distinct plasmids using DNA ligase. The newly merged plasmid DNA was then inserted into E. coli. According to their statement, “the nucleotide sequences cleaved are distinct and self-complementary so that DNA fragments produced by one of these enzymes can associate with other pieces produced by the same enzyme by hydrogen bonding.” This enabled the researchers to combine two DNA snippets from two distinct plasmids (Cohen et al., 1973). Not just plasmids, but any DNA from two different species might be said to possess this feature. Recombinant DNA biology is plausible due to the universality of DNA, or the capacity to combine DNA from different species, which is made possible by the fact that DNA has the same structure and function in all species and that restriction and ligase enzymes cut and paste DNA in various genomes in the same way. One of the most often utilized vectors for introducing recombinant DNA into bacterial cells nowadays is the E. coli bacteriophage. Because around one-third of this virus’s genome is deemed non-essential, meaning that it can be deleted and replaced with foreign DNA, it makes a great vector (i.e., the DNA being inserted).