biology

Geoglobus

Geoglobus is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Geoglobus rather than just read about it. In short: Geoglobus is a hyperthermophilic member of the Archaeoglobaceae within the Euryarchaeota. It consists of two species, the first, G. ahangari, isolated from the Guaymas Basin hydrothermal system located deep within the Gulf of California.

Key takeaways

Geoglobus belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Geoglobus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Geoglobus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Geoglobus is a hyperthermophilic member of the Archaeoglobaceae within the Euryarchaeota. It consists of two species, the first, G. ahangari, isolated from the Guaymas Basin hydrothermal system located deep within the Gulf of California. As a hyperthermophile, it grows best at a temperature of 88 °C and cannot grow at temperatures below 65 °C or above 90 °C. It possess an S-layer cell wall and a single flagellum. G. ahangari is an anaerobe, using poorly soluble ferric iron (Fe3+) as a terminal electron acceptor. It can grow either autotrophically using hydrogen gas (H2) or heterotrophically using a large number of organic compounds, including several types of fatty acids, as energy sources. G. ahangari was the first archaeon isolated capable of using hydrogen gas coupled to iron reduction as an energy source and the first anaerobe isolated capable of using long-chain fatty acids as an energy source. A second species was described as G. acetivorans, which also uses iron as its terminal electron acceptor..

Further reading

Scientific journals Kashefi, K.; Shelobolina, E. S.; Elliott, W. C.; Lovley, D. R. (2 November 2007). "Growth of Thermophilic and Hyperthermophilic Fe(III)-Reducing Microorganisms on a Ferruginous Smectite as the Sole Electron Acceptor". Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 74 (1): 251–258. doi:10.1128/AEM.01580-07. PMC 2223214. PMID 17981937. Kashefi K, Tor JM, Holmes DE, Gaw Van Praagh CV, Reysenbach AL, Lovley DR (2002). "Geoglobus ahangari gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel hyperthermophilic archaeon capable of oxidizing organic acids and growing autotrophically on hydrogen with Fe(III) serving as the sole electron accepter". Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 52 (Pt 3): 719–728. doi:10.1099/00207713-52-3-719. PMID 12054231. Slobodkina, G.B.; Kolganova, T.V.; Querellou, J.; Bonch-Osmolovskaya, E.A.; Slobodkin, A.I. (Nov 2009). "Geoglobus acetivorans sp nov., an iron(III)-reducing archaeon from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent" (PDF). International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 59 (Part 11): 2380–2383. doi:10.1099/ijs.0.011080-0. PMID 19628601. Manzella, Michael; Regura, Gemma; Kashefi, Kazem (31 May 2013). "Extracellular Electron Transfer to Fe(III) Oxides by the Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Geoglobus ahangari via a Direct Contact Mechanism". American Society for Microbiology. 79 (15): 4694–4700. Bibcode:2013ApEnM..79.4694M. doi:10.1128/AEM.01566-13. PMC 3719510. PMID 23728807.

Scientific books Huber H, Stetter KO (2001). "Family I. Archaeoglobaceae fam. nov. Stetter 1989, 2216". In DR Boone, RW Castenholz (eds.). Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology Volume 1: The Archaea and the deeply branching and phototrophic Bacteria (2nd ed.). New York: Springer Verlag. ISBN 978-0-387-98771-2. Stetter, KO (1989). "Group II. Archaeobacterial sulfate reducers. Order Archaeoglobales". In JT Staley; MP Bryant; N Pfennig; JG Holt (eds.). Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, Volume 3 (1st ed.). Baltimore: The Williams & Wilkins Co.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Geoglobus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Geoglobus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Geoglobus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Geoglobus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Geoglobus

In research: Geoglobus appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Geoglobus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Geoglobus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Archaea genera, Archaea stubs, Marine fauna of the Gulf of California, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Geoglobus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Geoglobus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Geoglobus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Geoglobus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Geoglobus in simple terms?

Why does Geoglobus matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Geoglobus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Geoglobus.