science

Thermoproteota

Thermoproteota 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 Thermoproteota rather than just read about it. In short: The Thermoproteota are archaea that have been classified as a phylum of the domain Archaea. Initially, the Thermoproteota were thought to be sulfur-dependent extremophiles but recent studies have identified characteristic Thermoproteota environmental rRNA indicating the organisms may be the most abundant archaea in the marine environment.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

The Thermoproteota are archaea that have been classified as a phylum of the domain Archaea. Initially, the Thermoproteota were thought to be sulfur-dependent extremophiles but recent studies have identified characteristic Thermoproteota environmental rRNA indicating the organisms may be the most abundant archaea in the marine environment. Originally, they were separated from the other archaea based on rRNA sequences; other physiological features, such as lack of histones, have supported this division, although some crenarchaea were found to have histones. Until 2005 all cultured Thermoproteota had been thermophilic or hyperthermophilic organisms, some of which have the ability to grow at up to 113 °C. These organisms stain Gram negative and are morphologically diverse, having rod, cocci, filamentous and oddly-shaped cells. Recent evidence shows that some members of the Thermoproteota are methanogens. Thermoproteota were initially classified as a part of regnum Eocyta in 1984, but this classification has been discarded. The term "eocyte" now applies to either TACK (formerly Crenarchaeota) or to Thermoproteota.

Sulfolobus One of the best characterized members of the Crenarchaeota is Sulfolobus solfataricus. This organism was originally isolated from geothermally heated sulfuric springs in Italy, and grows at 80 °C and pH of 2–4. Since its initial characterization by Wolfram Zillig, a pioneer in thermophile and archaean research, similar species in the same genus have been found around the world. Unlike the vast majority of cultured thermophiles, Sulfolobus grows aerobically and chemoorganotrophically (gaining its energy from organic sources such as sugars). These factors allow a much easier growth under laboratory conditions than anaerobic organisms and have led to Sulfolobus becoming a model organism for the study of hyperthermophiles and a large group of diverse viruses that replicate within them.

Phylogeny The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).

Recombinational repair of DNA damage Irradiation of S. solfataricus cells with ultraviolet light strongly induces formation of type IV pili that can then promote cellular aggregation. Ultraviolet light-induced cellular aggregation was shown by Ajon et al. to mediate high frequency inter-cellular chromosome marker exchange. Cultures that were ultraviolet light-induced had recombination rates exceeding those of uninduced cultures by as much as three orders of magnitude. S. solfataricus cells are only able to aggregate with other members of their own species. Frols et al. and Ajon et al. considered that the ultraviolet light-inducible DNA transfer process, followed by homologous recombinational repair of damaged DNA, is an important mechanism for promoting chromosome integrity. This DNA transfer process can be regarded as a primitive form of sexual interaction.

Marine species Beginning in 1992, data were published that reported sequences of genes belonging to the Thermoproteota in marine environments. Since then, analysis of the abundant lipids from the membranes of Thermoproteota taken from the open ocean have been used to determine the concentration of these "low temperature Crenarchaea" (See TEX-86). Based on these measurements of their signature lipids, Thermoproteota are thought to be very abundant and one of the main contributors to the fixation of carbon . DNA sequences from Thermoproteota have also been found in soil and freshwater environments, suggesting that this phylum is ubiquitous to most environments. In 2005, evidence of the first cultured "low temperature Crenarchaea" was published. Named Nitrosopumilus maritimus, it is an ammonia-oxidizing organism isolated from a marine aquarium tank and grown at 28 °C.

Possible connections with eukaryotes

The research about two-domain system of classification has paved the possibilities of connections between crenarchaea and eukaryotes. DNA analysis from 2008 (and later, 2017) has shown that eukaryotes evolved from thermoproteota-like organisms. Other candidates for the ancestor of eukaryotes include closely related asgards. This could suggest that eukaryotic organisms possibly evolved from prokaryotes. These results are similar to the eocyte hypothesis of 1984, proposed by James A. Lake. The classification according to Lake, states that both crenarchaea and asgards belong to Kingdom Eocyta. Though this has been discarded by scientists, the main concept remains. The term "Eocyta" now either refers to the TACK group or to Phylum Thermoproteota itself. However, the topic is highly debated and research is still going on.

See also Euryarchaeota List of Archaea genera Two-domain system Asgard (archaea)

References

Scientific journals

Scientific handbooks

External links

"Crenarchaeota". Virtual Microbiology (bact.wisc.edu). University of Wisconsin. "Comparative analysis of crenarchaeal genomes". Integrated Microbial Genomes System. United States Department of Energy. Archived from the original on 2010-09-01.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thermoproteota

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thermoproteota 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 Thermoproteota 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 Thermoproteota 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 Thermoproteota

In research: Thermoproteota 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 Thermoproteota 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: Thermoproteota is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Archaea phyla, Polyextremophiles, Thermoproteota, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thermoproteota 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 Thermoproteota in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Thermoproteota in simple terms?

Why does Thermoproteota 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 Thermoproteota?

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 Thermoproteota.