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Xerophiles
A xerophile () is an extremophile, extremophilic organism that can grow and reproduce in conditions with a low availability of water, also known as water activity. Physics Water activity, a thermodynamics, thermodynamical value denoted , is defined as the Partial pressure, partial water vapor pressure in Thermodynamic equilibrium, equilibrium with the substance relative to (divided by) the (partial) vapor pressure of pure water at the same temperature: a_w \equiv \frac The thermodynamical water activity is thus equal to the relative humidity (RH), and the chemical activity of pure water is equal to one: When the atmosphere above a substance, or a Solution (chemistry), solution, is Vapor–liquid equilibrium, undersaturated in water vapor , its water activity is lower than one. Xerophiles are "xerotolerant", meaning tolerant of dry conditions. They can often survive in environments with water activity below 0.8; above which is typical for most life on Earth. Typically xerot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extremophile
An extremophile () 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 Dominance (ecology), ecologically dominant in the evolutionary history of the planet. Dating back to more than 40 million years ago, 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. Character ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halophiles
A halophile (from the Greek word for 'salt-loving') is an extremophile that thrives in high salt concentrations. In chemical terms, halophile refers to a Lewis acidic species that has some ability to extract halides from other chemical species. While most halophiles are classified into the domain Archaea, there are also bacterial halophiles and some eukaryotic species, such as the alga ''Dunaliella salina'' and fungus ''Wallemia ichthyophaga''. Some well-known species give off a red color from carotenoid compounds, notably bacteriorhodopsin. Halophiles can be found in water bodies with salt concentration more than five times greater than that of the ocean, such as the Great Salt Lake in Utah, Owens Lake in California, the Lake Urmia in Iran, the Dead Sea, and in evaporation ponds. They are theorized to be a possible analogues for modeling extremophiles that might live in the salty subsurface water ocean of Jupiter's Europa and similar moons. Classification Halophiles are cat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Food Drying
Food drying is a method of food preservation in which food is dried (dehydrated or desiccated). Drying inhibits the growth of bacteria, yeasts, and mold through the removal of water. Dehydration has been used widely for this purpose since ancient times; the earliest known practice is 12,000 B.C. by inhabitants of the modern Asian and Middle Eastern regions."Historical Origins of Food Preservation". Accessed June 2011. Water is traditionally removed through by using methods such as air drying, sun drying, smoking or wind drying, although today electric food ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Food Preservation
Food preservation includes processes that make food more resistant to microorganism growth and slow the redox, oxidation of fats. This slows down the decomposition and rancidification process. Food preservation may also include processes that inhibit visual deterioration, such as the enzymatic browning reaction in apples after they are cut during food preparation. By preserving food, food waste can be reduced, which is an important way to decrease production costs and increase the efficiency of food systems, improve food security and nutrition and contribute towards environmental sustainability. For instance, it can reduce the Environmental impact of agriculture, environmental impact of food production. Many processes designed to preserve food involve more than one food preservation method. Preserving fruit by turning it into jam, for example, involves boiling (to reduce the fruit's moisture content and to kill bacteria, etc.), sugaring (to prevent their re-growth) and sealing wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cactus
A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek word (''káktos''), a name originally used by Theophrastus for a spiny plant whose identity is now not certain. Cacti occur in a wide range of shapes and sizes. They are native to the Americas, ranging from Patagonia in the south to parts of western Canada in the north, with the exception of ''Rhipsalis baccifera'', which is also found in Africa and Sri Lanka. Cacti are adapted to live in very dry environments, including the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth. Because of this, cacti show many adaptations to conserve water. For example, almost all cacti are succulents, meaning they have thickened, fleshy parts adapted to store water. Unlike many other succulents, the stem is the only part of most cacti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aspergillus Penicillioides
''Aspergillus penicillioides'' is a species of fungus in the genus ''Aspergillus'', and is among the most xerophilic fungi. ''Aspergillus penicillioides'' is typically found in indoor air, house dust, and on substrates with low water activity, such as dried food, papers affected by foxing, and inorganic objects such as binocular lenses. The distribution of the fungus is worldwide; it has been found in bed dust from maritime temperate, Mediterranean, and tropical climates. The abundance of the fungus is influenced by outdoor climate, with highest numbers found in tropics and lowest numbers in cool climates. Cool temperature tends to decrease number of ''A. penicillioides'' in house dust. A colony can arise from a single sexual or asexual spore under acidic conditions, and its diameter ranges from less than a milliliter to several centimeters, depending on the size and composition of the substrate. Germination of ''A. penicillioides'' was found to occur at lower water activ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zygosaccharomyces
''Zygosaccharomyces'' is a genus of yeasts in the family Saccharomycetaceae. It was first described under the genus ''Saccharomyces'', but in 1983, it was reclassified to its current name in the work by Barnett ''et al''. The yeast has a long history as a well-known spoilage yeast within the food industry, because several species in this genus are significantly resistant to many of the common food preservation methods. For example, the biochemical properties '' Z. bailii'' possesses to achieve this includes high sugar tolerance (50-60%), high ethanol tolerance (up to 18%), high acetic acid tolerance (2.0-2.5%), very high sorbic and benzoic acid Benzoic acid () is a white (or colorless) solid organic compound with the formula , whose structure consists of a benzene ring () with a carboxyl () substituent. The benzoyl group is often abbreviated "Bz" (not to be confused with "Bn," which ... tolerance (up to 800–1000 mg/L), high molecular SO2 tolerance (greater than 3&n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trichosporonoides Nigrescens
''Moniliella'' is a genus of fungi in the subdivision Ustilaginomycotina. It is in the monotypic family Moniliellaceae , which is in the monotypic order Moniliellales which is in the monotypic class Moniliellomycetes . The family, order and class were originally labelled as ''incertae sedis''. Until 2014, when ''Moniliellaceae'' was formed. Some species of ''Moniliella'' can cause disease in humans, and also in cats. The genus includes the black, yeast-like fungi in the Basidiomycota, although the black, yeast-like fungi also include some species from the Ascomycota. Distribution It has a scattered distribution, found in North and South America, Europe and Asia. Species List of species: *'' Moniliella acetoabutans'' *'' Moniliella byzovii'' *'' Moniliella carnis'' *'' Moniliella casei'' *'' Moniliella dehoogii'' *'' Moniliella fonsecae'' *'' Moniliella floricola'' *'' Moniliella macrospora'' *'' Moniliella madida'' (formerly in ''Trichosporonoides'') *'' Moniliella me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natronococcus
''Natronococcus'' is a genus of archaeans in the family the Natrialbaceae. Description and significance This haloalkaliphilic archaeon is in the same family as microorganisms like ''Halobacterium''. Study of ''Natronococcus'' continues to explore what enzymes are present in order to survive in these conditions, especially since there has not been much literature about enzymes of haloalkaliphiles. Genome structure The G + C content for the major chromosome is 64.0% while the minor component has a 55.7% content. The approximate size of the plasmid is 144 kbp. Cell structure and metabolism ''Natronococcus'' is a heterotrophic, aerobic organism that can use sugars as an energy source to stimulate growth. It can fix nitrogen from casamino acids and reduces nitrates to nitrites. Cells are non-motile and occur in irregular clusters, pairs, and single cells. The cell is coccoid in shape and 1–2 micrometres in diameter. colonies are pale brown and circular. Ecology ''N. oc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zygosaccharomyces Bailii Cells
''Zygosaccharomyces'' is a genus of yeasts in the family Saccharomycetaceae. It was first described under the genus ''Saccharomyces'', but in 1983, it was reclassified to its current name in the work by Barnett ''et al''. The yeast has a long history as a well-known spoilage yeast within the food industry, because several species in this genus are significantly resistant to many of the common food preservation methods. For example, the biochemical properties '' Z. bailii'' possesses to achieve this includes high sugar tolerance (50-60%), high ethanol tolerance (up to 18%), high acetic acid tolerance (2.0-2.5%), very high sorbic and benzoic acid Benzoic acid () is a white (or colorless) solid organic compound with the formula , whose structure consists of a benzene ring () with a carboxyl () substituent. The benzoyl group is often abbreviated "Bz" (not to be confused with "Bn," which ... tolerance (up to 800–1000 mg/L), high molecular SO2 tolerance (greater than 3&nb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halobacterium Salinarum
''Halobacterium salinarum'', formerly known as ''Halobacterium cutirubrum'' or ''Halobacterium halobium'', is an extremely halophile, halophilic ocean, marine obligate aerobic archaeon. Despite its name, this is not a bacteria, bacterium, but a member of the domain Archaea. It is found in salted fish, Hide (skin), hides, Hypersaline lake, hypersaline lakes, and salterns. As these salterns reach the minimum salinity limits for extreme halophiles, their waters become purple or reddish color due to the high densities of halophilic Archaea. ''H. salinarum'' has also been found in high-salt food such as salt pork, marine fish, and sausages. The ability of ''H. salinarum'' to live at such high salt concentrations has led to its classification as an extremophile. Cell morphology and metabolism Halobacteria are single-celled, rod-shaped microorganisms that are among the most ancient forms of life and appeared on Earth billions of years ago. The membrane consists of a single lipid bilaye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halolactibacillus Halophilus
''Halolactibacillus halophilus'' is a non-spore-forming, halophilic and alkaliphilic bacterium from the genus of '' Halolactibacillus'' which has been isolated from algae from the Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea .... References External links Type strain of ''Halolactibacillus halophilus'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase Bacillaceae Bacteria described in 2005 {{Firmicutes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
