Prokaryotic Diversity L10 P2

Characteristics of Archaea Diversity

1. Has 5 phyla’s

2. Many extremophiles

3. Common traits: Lack of peptidoglycan in cell wall, complex RNA polymerase, Ether-linked lipids

What is a extreme halophile

1. Needs salt to grow

2. Requires more than 1.5M NaCl for growth

What adaptations do extreme halophiles have

1. high levels of Na+ ions are necessary to maintain CELL WALL structure

2. intracellularly requires more KCl for activity, and contains higher levels of polar amino acids

What is a extreme thermophile

Needs high temperature to grow

What adaptations do extreme thermophiles have

1. Needs CHAPERONINS (heat shock proteins) to maintain properly folded proteins

2. reverse DNA GYRASE and also DNA binding proteins to prevent DNA from melting (separating)

3. Increased GC (Guanine and Cytosine) content in ribosomal RNA’s to maintain ribosomes

4. lipid MONOLAYER rather than a lipid BILAYER in the cell membrane

Characteristics of Euryarchaeota

1. Many methogens, produce CH4 as part of energy metabolism (METHANOGENESIS)

2. includes methanogens, halophilic Archaea and hyperthermophiles

Characteristics of Crenarchaeota

1. Mostly HYPERTHERMOPHILES

2. Most are obligate anaerobes

3. Metabolism is chemooranotrophic or chemolithotrophic

Characteristics of Thaumarchaeota

1. Adapted to EXTREME NUTRIENT LIMITATION

2. CHEMOLITHOTROPH AMMONIA-OXIDIZERS

3. nitrifying Archaea

4. Most abundance archaea in nature

Characteristics of Nanoarchaeota

1. Only grows when attached to another hyperthermophile

2. Only one species with a very small genome

Characteristics of Korarchaeota

1. Only one species found in GEOTHERMAL environments

2. Has a species name meaning secret filament of youth