science

Thermococcus gammatolerans

Thermococcus gammatolerans 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 Thermococcus gammatolerans rather than just read about it. In short: Thermococcus gammatolerans is a gram-negative archaeon extremophile and the most radiation-resistant organism known to exist. As reported in 2003 the type strain EJ3T was taken from a submarine hydrothermal vent in the Guaymas Basin off the coast of Baja California at a depth of about 2,600 m (8,500 ft) by submersible Nautile during the 1991 Guaynaut cruise.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Thermococcus gammatolerans is a gram-negative archaeon extremophile and the most radiation-resistant organism known to exist. As reported in 2003 the type strain EJ3T was taken from a submarine hydrothermal vent in the Guaymas Basin off the coast of Baja California at a depth of about 2,600 m (8,500 ft) by submersible Nautile during the 1991 Guaynaut cruise. Thermococcus gammatolerans thrives in temperatures between 55 and 95 °C (131 and 203 °F) with an optimum development around 88 °C (190 °F). Its optimal growth pH is 6, favoring the presence of sulfur (S), which is reduced to hydrogen sulfide (H2S). It is the organism with the strongest known resistance to radiation, surviving a dose of 30,000 gray (Gy) of gamma rays. Along with the genera Palaeococcus and Pyrococcus, Thermococcus belongs to the Thermococcaceae family, sole family of the Thermococci (called "Protoarchaea" by Cavalier-Smith), a class in the phylum Euryarchaeota of Archaea. Thermococcus species live in extremely hot environments such as hydrothermal vents with an optimum growth temperature above 80 °C (176 °F). Thermococcus and Pyrococcus (literally "ball of fire") are both chemoorganotrophic and obligately anaerobic. Thermococcus spp. prefer 70–95 °C (158–203 °F), whereas Pyrococcus species prefer 70–100 °C (158–212 °F). The resistance to ionizing radiation of T. gammatolerans is enormous. While a dose of 5 Gy is sufficient to kill a human, and a dose of 60 Gy is able to kill all cells in a colony of E. coli, Thermococcus gammatolerans can withstand doses up to 30,000 Gy, and an instantaneous dose up to 5,000 Gy with no loss of viability.

History Thermococcus gammatolerans was discovered in 2003 in samples collected from a hydrothermal chimney at the Guaymas Basin about 2,000 m (6,600 ft) deep off the coast of California, (27° 1' N, 111° 24' W).

Mechanisms of resistance to radiation Unlike other organisms, cell survival in T. gammatolerans is not altered by changing conditions in its growth phase, but the lack of ideal conditions and nutrients decreases its radioresistance. The system of chromosomal DNA repair shows that cells in stationary phase of growth reconstitute DNA more rapidly than cells in exponential growth phase. T. gammatolerans can slowly or quickly rebuild damaged chromosomes without loss of viability.

Applications A study has been conducted of its application to the development of new enzymatic markers that are resistant to high temperatures and their application in the study of carcinogenesis and the study of the development of mitochondrial diseases. DNA repair mechanisms of T. gammatolerans could be incorporated into the genome of more complex species to improve DNA repair and reduce cellular aging.

Etymology Thermococcus: Greek feminine noun thermê (θέρμη), heat; Neo-Latin masculine noun coccus (from Greek masculine noun kokkos (κόκκος), berry), coccus; new Latin masculine noun Thermococcus, coccus existing in hot environment. gammatolerans: Gr. gamma (γάμμα), referring to gamma rays; Latin participle adjective tolerans, tolerating; Neo-Latin participle adjective gammatolerans, referring to its ability to tolerate high levels of γ-rays.

References

Further reading Arnaud, Lagorce; Aude, Fourc ̧ans; Murielle, Dutertre; Brice, Bouyssiere; Yvan, Zivanovic; Fabrice, Confalonieri (27 July 2012). "Genome-Wide Transcriptional Response of the Archaeon Thermococcus gammatolerans to Cadmium". PLOS ONE. 7 (7): Article No.: e41935. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...741935L. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0041935. PMC 3407056. PMID 22848664. Retrieved 3 November 2014. Tapias, Angels; Leplat, Christophe; Confalonieri, Fabrice (March 2009). "Recovery of ionizing-radiation damage after high doses of gamma ray in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus gammatolerans". Extremophiles. 13 (2): 333–343. doi:10.1007/s00792-008-0221-3. PMID 19137239. S2CID 5671089.

External links Type strain of Thermococcus gammatolerans at BacDive - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thermococcus gammatolerans

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thermococcus gammatolerans 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 Thermococcus gammatolerans 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 Thermococcus gammatolerans 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 Thermococcus gammatolerans

In research: Thermococcus gammatolerans 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 Thermococcus gammatolerans 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: Thermococcus gammatolerans is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Archaea described in 2003, Methanobacteriati, Radiodurants, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thermococcus gammatolerans 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 Thermococcus gammatolerans in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Thermococcus gammatolerans in simple terms?

Why does Thermococcus gammatolerans 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 Thermococcus gammatolerans?

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 Thermococcus gammatolerans.