science

Spirochaeta americana

Spirochaeta americana is a science 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 Spirochaeta americana rather than just read about it. In short: Spirochaeta americana is a single-celled extremophile. This haloalkaliphilic and obligately anaerobic bacterium can be found in the highly alkaline, salty, deep waters of California's Mono Lake.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Spirochaeta americana is a single-celled extremophile. This haloalkaliphilic and obligately anaerobic bacterium can be found in the highly alkaline, salty, deep waters of California's Mono Lake.

Physical characteristics S. americana has long helically coiled cells, is gram-negative, and is chemotrophic in its metabolism. Spirochaeta also have unique flagella, sometimes called axial filaments, which run lengthwise between the cytoplasmic membrane and outer membrane. These cause a twisting motion which allows the spirochaete to move about. Despite the extreme environment that they require, "their cell walls are very delicate, and it is difficult to keep them alive for long periods in the laboratory," says Dr. Elena Pikuta, one of the discoverers of S. americana.

Environment

S. americana thrives in the lake-bottom mud of Lake Mono, a 13 mile wide former monomictic volcanic basin which is fed by numerous small Sierra streams and which has no outflow except evaporation and Californian aqueducts, thereby continually increasing the concentration of salts and other minerals in its waters. Further mineral enrichment of these waters also occur due to the volcanically active area, such as when Negit Island erupted roughly 250 years ago. Surviving in deep, salty, alkaline lake mud of Lake Mono, the extreme conditions in which S. americana thrive have prompted its discoverers to explore Antarctica's Lake Untersee, hopefully to discover similar species.

Reproduction S. americana reproduces via transverse binary fission, where the cytoplasm divides transversely between two sets of DNA genomes, forming two dissimilar individuals, as do other Spirochaeta.

Growth and metabolism This bacterium grows in environments of 10 to 44 degrees Celsius with optimal growth at 37 degrees and prefers a pH balance of 9.5, similar to that of baking soda, hand soap, or a solution of household bleach in water. S. americana is capable of metabolizing D-glucose, fructose, maltose, sucrose, starch and D-mannitol and has as its waste H2, acetate, ethanol and formate.

References

External links Science a gogo - New Species Of Organism Excites Astrobiologists Space.com - New Life Form Found in Mars-Like Conditions Type strain of Spirochaeta americana at BacDive - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase

Illustrations

Spirochaeta americana: Diagram of bacterial binary fission. — Diagram of bacterial binary fission.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Spirochaeta americana

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Spirochaeta americana claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, 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 Spirochaeta americana 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 Spirochaeta americana 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 Spirochaeta americana

In research: Spirochaeta americana appears in science 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 Spirochaeta americana 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: Spirochaeta americana is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Alkaliphiles, Bacteria described in 2003, Halophiles, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Spirochaeta americana 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 Spirochaeta americana in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Spirochaeta americana 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 Spirochaeta americana out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Spirochaeta americana in simple terms?

Spirochaeta americana is a single-celled extremophile. This haloalkaliphilic and obligately anaerobic bacterium can be found in the highly alkaline, salty, deep waters of California's Mono Lake.

Why does Spirochaeta americana matter?

Because it connects several science 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 Spirochaeta americana?

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 Spirochaeta americana.