Thermophile in the context of "Extremophile"

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⭐ Core Definition: Thermophile

A thermophile is a type of extremophile that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between 41 and 122 °C (106 and 252 °F). Many thermophiles are archaea, though some of them are bacteria and fungi. Thermophilic eubacteria are suggested to have been among the earliest bacteria.

Thermophiles are found in geothermally heated regions of the Earth, such as hot springs like those in Yellowstone National Park and deep sea hydrothermal vents, as well as decaying plant matter, such as peat bogs and compost. They can live at high temperatures, whereas other bacteria or archaea would be damaged and sometimes killed if exposed to the same temperatures.

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👉 Thermophile in the context of Extremophile

An extremophile (from Latin extremus 'extreme' and Ancient Greek φιλία (philía) 'love') is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e., environments with conditions approaching or stretching the limits of what known life can adapt to, such as extreme temperature, pressure, radiation, salinity, or pH level.

Since the definition of an extreme environment is relative to an arbitrarily defined standard, often an anthropocentric one, these organisms can be considered ecologically dominant in the evolutionary history of the planet. Extremophiles have continued to thrive in the most extreme conditions, making them one of the most abundant lifeforms. The study of extremophiles has expanded human knowledge of the limits of life, and informs speculation about extraterrestrial life. Extremophiles are also of interest because of their potential for bioremediation of environments made hazardous to humans due to pollution or contamination.

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Thermophile in the context of Polymerase

In biochemistry, a polymerase is an enzyme (EC 2.7.7.6/7/19/48/49) that synthesizes long chains of polymers or nucleic acids. DNA polymerase and RNA polymerase are used to assemble DNA and RNA molecules, respectively, by copying a DNA template strand using base-pairing interactions or half ladder replication.

A DNA polymerase from the thermophilic bacterium, Thermus aquaticus (Taq) (PDB 1BGX, EC 2.7.7.7), is used in the polymerase chain reaction, an important technique of molecular biology.

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Thermophile in the context of Hydrogenophilaceae

The Hydrogenophilaceae are a family of the class Hydrogenophilalia in the phylum Pseudomonadota ("Proteobacteria"), with two genera – Hydrogenophilus and Tepidiphilus. Like all Pseudomonadota, they are Gram-negative. All known species are thermophilic, growing around 50 °C, and use molecular hydrogen or organic molecules as their source of electrons to support growth; some species are autotrophs.

The genus Thiobacillus was previously considered to be a member in this family but was reclassified into the order Nitrosomonadales at the same time that the Hydrogenophilales were removed from the Betaproteobacteria to form the class Hydrogenophilalia.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Extremophile ← Extremophiles ← Polymerase ← Hydrogenophilaceae
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Grand Prismatic Spring → Yellowstone National Park → Extremophile → Archaea → Bacteria → Fungi → Eubacteria → Geothermal energy → Earth → Deep sea → Hydrothermal vent → Peat bogs → Compost →