An extremotroph (from Latin ' meaning "extreme" and Greek ' () meaning "food") is an organism that feeds on matter that is not typically considered to be food to most life on Earth. "These
anthropocentric
Anthropocentrism ( ) is the belief that human beings are the central or most important entity on the planet. The term can be used interchangeably with humanocentrism, and some refer to the concept as human supremacy or human exceptionalism. From a ...
definitions that we make of
extremophily and extremotrophy focus on a single environmental extreme but many extremophiles may fall into multiple categories, for example, organisms living inside hot rocks deep under the Earth's surface."
Examples
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Pestalotiopsis microspora
''Pestalotiopsis microspora'' is a species of endophytic fungus capable of breaking down and digesting polyurethane. Originally identified in 1880 in fallen foliage of common ivy (''Hedera helix'') in Buenos Aires, it also causes leaf spot ...
'': plastic eater
*''
Halomonas titanicae
''Halomonas titanicae'' is a gram-negative, halophilic species of bacteria which was isolated in 2010 from rusticles recovered from the wreck of the RMS ''Titanic''. It has been estimated by Henrietta Mann, one of the researchers that first iso ...
'': metal eater
*''
Geotrichum candidum
''Geotrichum candidum'' is a fungus which is a member of the human microbiome, notably associated with skin, sputum, and faeces where it occurs in 25–30% of specimens. It is common in soil and has been isolated from soil collected around the w ...
'': compact disk eater
*''
Aspergillus fumigatus
''Aspergillus fumigatus'' is a species of fungus in the genus ''Aspergillus'', and is one of the most common ''Aspergillus'' species to cause disease in individuals with an immunodeficiency.
''Aspergillus fumigatus'', a saprotroph widespread in ...
'':
printed circuit board
A printed circuit board (PCB), also called printed wiring board (PWB), is a Lamination, laminated sandwich structure of electrical conduction, conductive and Insulator (electricity), insulating layers, each with a pattern of traces, planes ...
eater
*''
Deinococcus radiodurans
''Deinococcus radiodurans'' is a bacterium, an extremophile and one of the most radiation-resistant organisms known. It can survive cold, dehydration, vacuum, and acid, and therefore is known as a polyextremophile. ''The Guinness Book Of World ...
'': radioactive waste eater
*
Actinobacteria
The Actinomycetota (or Actinobacteria) are a diverse phylum of Gram-positive bacteria with high GC content. They can be terrestrial or aquatic. They are of great importance to land flora because of their contributions to soil systems. In soil t ...
from arid and desert habitats
*Cold-tolerant
cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria ( ) are a group of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" () refers to their bluish green (cyan) color, which forms the basis of cyanobacteri ...
found in polar ice shelves
Industrial uses
Extremotrophs are used as
bioremediation
Bioremediation broadly refers to any process wherein a biological system (typically bacteria, microalgae, fungi in mycoremediation, and plants in phytoremediation), living or dead, is employed for removing environmental pollutants from air, wate ...
and
biodegradation
Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegrada ...
agents.
See also
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Chemotroph
A chemotroph is an organism that obtains energy by the oxidation of electron donors in their environments. These molecules can be organic ( chemoorganotrophs) or inorganic ( chemolithotrophs). The chemotroph designation is in contrast to phot ...
*
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, press ...
*
Heterotroph
A heterotroph (; ) is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but ...
*
Lithoautotroph
A lithoautotroph is an organism that derives energy from reactions of Redox, reduced compounds of mineral (inorganic) origin. Two types of lithoautotrophs are distinguished by their energy source; photolithoautotrophs derive their energy from light ...
References
Eating behaviors
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