Thermotoga elfii

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Thermotoga elfii is a rod-shaped, glucose-fermenting bacterium. The type strain of T. elfii is SEBR 6459T. The genus Thermotoga was originally thought to be strictly found surrounding submarine hydrothermal vents, but this organism was subsequently isolated in African oil wells in 1995. A protective outer sheath allows this microbe to be thermophilic. This organism cannot function in the presence of oxygen making it strictly anaerobic. Some research proposes that the thiosulfate-reducing qualities in this organism could lead to decreased bio-corrosion in oil equipment in industrial settings.

History

Discovery The genus Thermotoga, previously thought only to be found around submarine hydrothermal vents, was discovered in North Sea oil wells. Due to this discovery, other wells in the area began being investigated, leading to the discovery of Thermotoga elfii in African oil wells in April 1995. T. elfii was gathered in a one-liter sample at the head of a well at 68 °C. Ravot et al. isolated this species by cultivation on a basal medium containing numerous different nutrients and resources (water, salt, glucose, sodium acetate, etc.) in the lab and then by using repeated trials of the agar shake dilution technique. These scientists concluded by determining the samples' purity through microscopy.

Taxonomy The first name of Thermotoga elfii is derived from the Greek root "therm," which means heat. "Toga," which is a Roman term for an outer garment, is where the second part of the genus name originated. This is due to the outer sheath that wraps around the bacteria to protect it from the extreme temperature often associated with this thermophile. The latter name is derived from Elf-Aquitaine, the French oil company that owned the oil wells where T. elfii was first discovered.

Physiology and metabolism Therotoga elfii colonies of 1 millimeter have been observed in a laboratory setting, but the actual structure of the rod-shaped T. elfii is between 0.5-3 micrometers long. Its protective outer sheath is the defining characteristic, which aided in providing T. elfii its name. This structure balloons over each side of the organism and protects it from extreme heat. When a Gram stain is performed on this organism, a gram-negative result is expected. T. elfii has flagella uniformly distributed around its body, making it a peritrichous bacteria. It is also an obligate anaerobe, meaning it cannot tolerate oxygen. Electron acceptors include thiosulfate, arabinose, bio-trypticase, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose, ribose, sucrose, and xylose. Electron donors include acetate, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen.

Genome and phylogeny The 16s RNA gene is 1,519 bases long with a GC content of 39.6 mol%. Due to T. elfii’s relatively new status, much information about the number of genes is still unknown. However, a 91.9% relative of this species, Thermotoga maritima, has been documented as having 1.86 million base pairs with 1,877 predicted coding regions. The phylogenic family for Thermotoga elfii contains organisms such as Thermotoga thermarum, Thermotoga maritima, and Thermosipho africanus, which have a roughly 90% relation to this organism.

Ecology The genus Thermotoga contains some of the most thermophilic microorganisms known. It is composed of species that are thermophilic and hyperthermophilic which can thrive in temperatures as high as 80 °C. The optimum growth temperature for Thermotoga elfii, however, is 66 °C. The optimum pH is 7.5 and the optimum salinity is 1.2%.

Applications

Industrial applications The discovery of T. elfii has been deemed significant as it has led to other discoveries of methanogens, thermophiles, and sulfate-reducing bacteria. This organism and the others discovered in this unique environment can help make progress in microbe-assisted oil recovery processes. Thiosulfate, often implicated in the corrosion of metals used in oil pipelines, is reduced to sulfide by Thermotoga elfii, which leads many scientists to believe it has a major role in preserving oil extraction equipment.

Environmental applications In many anoxic thermal marine hot springs, thiosulfate oxidation often does not occur or occurs at an extremely slow rate. These thermophilic thiosulfate-reducers can play a key role in the mineralization of organic compounds to simpler, plant-accessible forms.

References

Further reading Dworkin, Martin, and Stanley Falkow, eds. The Prokaryotes: Vol. 7: Proteobacteria: Delta and Epsilon Subclasses. Deeply Rooting Bacteria. Vol. 7. Springer, 2006. Devrije, T (2002). "Pretreatment of Miscanthus for hydrogen production by Thermotoga elfii". International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 27 (11–12): 1381–1390. doi:10.1016/S0360-3199(02)00124-6. ISSN 0360-3199. Fardeau, Marie-Laure; Goulhen, Florence; Bruschi, Mireille; Khelifi, Nadia; Cayol, Jean-Luc; Ignatiadis, Ioannis; Guyot, François; Ollivier, Bernard (2009). "Archaeoglobus fulgidusandThermotoga elfii, Thermophilic Isolates from Deep Geothermal Water of the Paris Basin". Geomicrobiology Journal. 26 (2): 119–130. doi:10.1080/01490450802674970. ISSN 0149-0451. S2CID 84729244.

External links "Thermotoga elfii". The Encyclopedia of Life. LPSN

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thermotoga elfii

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thermotoga elfii 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 Thermotoga elfii 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 Thermotoga elfii 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 Thermotoga elfii

In research: Thermotoga elfii 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 Thermotoga elfii 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: Thermotoga elfii is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bacteria described in 1995, Thermophiles, Thermotogota, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thermotoga elfii 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.

How to study Thermotoga elfii in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Thermotoga elfii in simple terms?

Thermotoga elfii is a rod-shaped, glucose-fermenting bacterium. The type strain of T. elfii is SEBR 6459T.

Why does Thermotoga elfii 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 Thermotoga elfii?

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 Thermotoga elfii.