Download Archaea - The Ancient Oddities

Archaea – Ancient Oddities
Death in Yellowstone
If the waters of Yellowstone are so
deadly, can anything survive in them?
Animal Bones in hot spring
Dead Trees in Mammoth Hot Springs
Yes, but how?
A History of Archaea
• Purported to be the
oldest life forms on
Earth (based on
fossilized lipid evidence
from 3.8 bya in
Greenland)
• Up to 20% of Earth’s
biomass
http://www.microbiologyonline.org.uk/aboutmicrobiology/introducing-microbes/archaea
Domain Archaea
• Kingdom Archaea/Archaebacteria
• General Characteristics:
- Unicellular
- Prokaryotes
- No Membrane-Bound Organelles
- Cell Walls in some, not all - Ferroplasma
& Thermoplasma lack them
- No peptidoglycan in cell wall (unlike
Eubacteria)
- Ether lipids in cell walls (single lipid
bilayer)
- Reproduce asexually by binary fission
http://www.
microbiology
online.org.uk
/aboutmicrobiology
/introducingmicrobes/arc
haea
Q1: Which characteristic does NOT
describe Archaea?
•
•
•
•
A) Unicellular
B) Use Binary Fission to Reproduce
C) Prokaryotic
D) Double-membraned
Mitochondria
• E) Ancient life forms
Cell Membrane Structure
http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Archaea
- Differences:
- 1) Glycerol-ether lipids
- 2) Different glycerol
arrangement leads to
different enzymes used for
phospholipids
- 3) Branched lipid tails
prevent leakage at high
temps
- 4) Fused lipid tails make
them more rigid & able to
withstand high temps
Q2: Describe 2 characteristics of
Archaea that enable them to live in
strange environments.
Morphology
• Range from 0.1 μm to .15 μm
• Spheres, rods, spirals, or plates
• May form aggregates or
biofilms
Lifestyle
• CAN live in extreme
environments (hot
springs, salt lakes,
volcanic vents), but are
also found in marshes,
soils, oceans, intestines
• Unlike Eubacteria, none
are known parasites or
pathogens (are often
mutualists or
commensalists)
Q3: Which of these is a likely
environment to find Archaea?
• A) Hot Springs
• B) Cow Intestines
• C) Deep-sea Vents
• D) Salt Lakes
• E) All of these are Suitable
locations.
Q4: Archaea are responsible for
causing human diseases such as
strep throat and food poisoning.
• A. True
• B. False
Domain Comparison
Shared with Bacteria
Shared with Eukarya
Unique to Archaea
No nucleus or membrane-bound
organelles
No peptidoglycan
Cell wall structure (for example,
some archaeal cell walls contain
pseudomurein)
Circular genome
DNA associated with histones
Cell membrane containing etherlinked lipids
Genes grouped in operons
Translation initiated with
methionine
Flagellin protein structure
No introns or RNA processing
Similar RNA polymerase,
promoters, other transcriptional
machinery[39][40][41]
Ribosomal structure
(characteristics shared with both
Bacteria and Eukarya)
Polycistronic mRNA
Similar DNA replication and repair
tRNA sequence and metabolism
Cellular size (>100-fold smaller
than eukaryotes)
Growth not inhibited by
streptomycin
Ability to grow at temps greater
than 100 o C
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaea
Q5: Mark whether the following
charcteristics describe Bacteria (B),
Archaea (A) or Eukarya(E) – you may
mark more than one letter.
•
•
•
•
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
No nucleus.
Peptidoglycan found in cell wall.
Histones present.
Circular genome.
Ether-linked lipids in cell membrane.
Archaea Phyla
•
•
•
•
•
Crenarchaeota – Sulfolobus
Euryarchaeota – Methanogens, Thermoplasma
Korarchaeota – Hot springs, hydrothermals
Nanoarchaeota – Marine environments
Thaumarchaeota – Chemolithotrophic ammonia
oxidizers (nutrient cyclers)
Metabolic Methods
• Phototrophs – sunlight – Halobacteria
• Lithotrophs – inorganic compounds –
Ferroglobus, Methanobacteria, Pyrolobus
• Organotrophs – organic compounds –
Pyrococcus, Sulfolobus, Methanosarcinales
Q6: Which of the following Archaea
uses a metabolic method most like
that of plants?
•
•
•
•
•
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Methanobacteria
Pyrolobus
Ferroglobus
Pyrococcus
Halobacteria
Halophiles – Colorful Salt Lovers
https://sites.google.com/
site/halophileproject2011
/halophiles
http://serc.carleton.edu/im
ages/microbelife/Aphanoth
ece.jpg
Thermophiles – Some Like it Hot!
Acidophiles
Alkaliphiles
Q7: Which of the following Archaea
are most likely to be found living in the
Dead Sea?
• A.
• B.
• C.
• D.
Alkaliphiles
Acidophiles
Halophiles
Thermophiles
Food Webs Dependent on Archaea
Ephydra brusei on mat of cyanobacteria
- Flies feed on
algae living
with the
thermophilic
mat
community &
lay their eggs in
clumps of algae
- Spiders &
mites eat the
eggs & flies
- Killdeer eat
the flies
Food Webs Dependent on Archaea
- Biomagnification of Methyl Mercury may be seen in these
mats
Q8: Draw a food web
of these thermal
communities.
What makes the rainbow?
Blue = Refracted sunlight
What makes the rainbow?
• Orange/Yellow = Presence of Carotenoids in
the Archaea - Help Protect Against Harsh Sun
in Summer – Tend to darken in Winter when
Chlorophyll becomes the dominant pigment
Again
Q9: A more brilliant rainbow
would be seen in the summer
rather than the winter at a thermal
pool in Yellowstone National Park.
• A. True
• B. False
Bioprospecting
• Some of the Archaea found in YNP were used
to develop gene technology (used in PCR
enzymes).
• No benefits-sharing system was in place when
they were “discovered” – no money was paid
to the federal government for its use.
• The company makes approximately $200
million/year selling PCR supplies.
Q10: Do you think
federal lands
should be open for
bioprospecting?
Defend your
answer in 2 wellwritten paragraphs
(5-7 sentences
each).