|
|
|
|
|
ExtremophileAn extremophile is an organism, usually unicellular, which thrives in or requires "extreme" conditions. The definition of "extreme" is anthropocentric; to the organism itself its environment is completely normal. Thus, strictly, "extremophilic" lables should be used to describe the environment that an organism thrives in, regardless of how "normal" or "extreme" they may seem to human beings. For example, human beings are classified as a mesophilic aerobe. When used in the context of describing organisms that thrive in environments that are extreme from human perspectives, many extremophiles are members of the Archaea family, and indeed the terms are occasionally used interchangeably to describe the many extremophilic bacteria and eukarya. Not all extremophiles are unicellular. Examples of extremophilic metazoa are the psychrophilic Grylloblattodea (insects) and antarctic krill (crustaceans). Types of extremophiles There are many different classes of extremophiles, each corresponding to the way its chosen environment differs from what is considered "normal" by other organisms. These classifications are not exclusive. Many extremophiles fall under multiple categories. For example, organisms living inside hot rocks deep under Earth's surface are both thermophilic and barophilic. External links
|
 |
|
| Copyright 2005-2009 OnPedia.com. All Rights Reserved |
|
|