exam 3 Flashcards
(151 cards)
Origin of earth
origin of the universe:
-big band was 10-18 billion years ago
-carbon and higher elements formed first stars- main hydrogen and helium
-earth is about 4.5 billion years old
crust of eath became stable 3/9 billion years ago
What constitutes life?
first evidence of life is about 3.8 bya
ability to ingest nutrients, secrete waste products, grow and reproduce
-obtain ebergy to drive chemical reactions
-generally capable of reproduction
-generally can evolve
debates over the origin of life
1) temp: mesophilic or thermophilic
many uncatalyzed but biologically relevant reactions could have taken place much faster at higher temps
enzymes when they arose, provided optimal rate acceleration at lower temps
2) carbon metabolism: autotrophs vs heterotroph- availability of substrates to support heterotrophy is unlikely
3) complex cells early or late: trees and energetics suggest start with cells of low comoplexity
- early evolution was anoxic- oxygen is microbial invention
monera
category for organisms poorly understood
kingdoms in the traditional 5 kingdoms: monera, animalia, protista, plantae, fungi
-very subjective, mostly based on morphological complexity
prokaryotes
pro= before karyon= nucleus
possess basic life properties
- metabolic processes
- reproduction- using DNA, RNA, ribosomes
characterized by what they lack
- no nucleus
- no membrane bound organelles
eukaryotes vs prokaryotes
Eukaryotes:
- organelles present- nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts
- diploid
- many are multicellular
- mitosis, centrioles present in many, mitotic spindle or microtubules
prokaryotes:
- no membrane-bound organelles
- haploid
- never truely multicellular
- cell division, no mitosis, binary fission or budding
how to classify prokaryotes?
bacteria lack both morphological complexity and a fossil record
- SSU rRNA gene used for defining phylogeny
- rRNA is ubiquitous
- sufficiently conserved to relate all life
- multiple variable regions, good for discrimination
archaea
comparisons of rRNA sequences allowed scientists to establish relationships among organisms
revealed a 3 domain tree
reason for not using the word prokaryote
implies incorrect origin of eukaryotes
prokaryotes represent a paraphyletic group- where not all orgs come from last common ancestor
endosymbiotic theory and evidence
postulates that mitochondria, chloroplasts and maybe some other subcellular organelles, originated when a bacterium established stable residence within the cytoplsm of a primitive bacterium established stables residence in the cytoplasm of a eukaryote and provided the cell with energy in exchange for a protective environment/nutrients
evidence: mitochondria and chloroplasts are about the same size of an average bacterium
-both organelles replicate by fission like bacteris. the duplication of both organelles takes place independently of nuclear division
both organelles have their own ribosomes and manufacture their own proteins. these ribosomes resemble bacterial ribosomes
cyanobacteria have a similar structure to chloroplasts and contain the same chlorophyls
mitochondria and chloroplasts have their own genome- these are circular molecules resembling bacterial chromosomes
-sequence the mitochondrion and chloroplasts genomes demonstrate that chloroplasts DNA is close to cyanobacteria and mitochondrial DNA close to typhus bacteria DNA- we see them on tree of life where we would expect if they had evolved from proteobacteria and cyanobacteria
archaea- size and shape
0.1 um to 15 um in diameter
but usually very small
can form longer aggregates or filaments
they have a variety of cell walls but they don’t contian peptidoglycan, protein S-layers and preudomurein
various shapes- spherical, rod, spiral or lobed
archaea DNA
single circular chromosome can have plasmids currently>1000 genomes finished or in production genome size range 0.5-5.5 reproduce asexually not known to produce spores most as yet uncultured
archaea cell membrane
L-glycerol instead of D-glycerol
side chains bound by ether
side chains in the phospholipid bilayer is branched isoprene
archaea have cytoplsmic membrane, no outer membrane
archaea similarities with bacteria
like bacteria:
- no nucleus
- no membrane bound organelles
- DNA in a signle loop
- genes grouped in operons
- genes in metabolism are similar
- size
archaea similarities with Eurakyotes
- similar RNA polymerase
- methionine initiates protein synthesis (bacteria use formyl-methionine)
- histones (spools around which DNA winds)
Archaea difference from Bacteria
bacteria have:
- simple RNA polymerase
- formylmethionine initiates protein synthesis
- control transcription initiation using sigma factors
why study archaea?
- fuel production, food, antibiotics
- to understand their niche since it is so ddiverse
- archaea live in extreme environments so understanding their enzymes have many uses
they provide unique opportunities to gain insight into a number of fundamental problems in biology:
- such as extremophiles= biotech applications
- are imp components of biogeochemical cycles on earth and dominate special ecosystems of interes= methanogens
- offer insight into early evolution of life including origin of eukaryotes
Methanogens
- methanogenesis only occurs in archaea
- polyphyletic- derived from more than one common evolutionary ancestor
- require complete anaerobiosis to frow
- major substrates and reactions include: H2 and CO2, acetic acid, methanol, methylamine
methanogens grow in: anaerobic soil of wetlands, rice paddies, landfills, rumen and GI tract of mammals, marine benthic sediments
hydrogen consuming methanogens: ecologically important in anaerobic environments: remove excess hydrogen produced by other pseices during fermentation (interspecies H2 transfer)
Halophiles
extremophiles that can occur in environments with very high salt concentrations
- salt loving
-polyphyletic, they also occur outside of Archaea
some halophiles are capable of light-driven synthesis of ATP
-bacteriorhodopsin act as H+ pump- capture light energy and use it to move H+ acriss membrane= gradient made to make ATP- not photosynthesis since no synthesis
-survive by increasing osmolarity of the cell
>compatible solutes (organic compounds in cytoplasm)
>selective influence of K (salt-in strategy)
Halophile salt strategy
“salt-in” strategy
- to use this strategy all enzymes and structural cell components must be adapted to high salt concentrations to ensure proper cell function
- based on optimal saline environments, halophilic organisms can be grouped into 3 categories: extreme halophiles, moderate halophiles, slightly halophilic or halotolerant organisms
- some extreme halophiles can live in solutions of 25% salt; seawater= 2% salt
extremophiles
can occur in environments with high temps between 45-122 degrees C
enzymes function at high temps
membranes stable at high temps
include both obligate and facultative
adaptations to life at high temps
stability of monomers
- protective effect of high concentrations of cytoplasmic solutes
- use more heat stable molecules ex: use of non-heme iron proteins ex: ferredoxins
- no significant changes in amino acid composition
protein folding and thermostability
- highly hydrophobic cores
- increased ionic interactions on protein surface
chaperonins -class of proteins that refold partially denatured proteins
DNA stability
- high intracellular levels of polyamines that stabilize DNA and RNA ex: putrescine, spermidine
- DNA binding proteins (archaeal histones) compact
4 distinct phyla/groups of Archaes
based on small subunit ribosomal RNA sequences (less than 80% identity among them) that are well accepted among scientists Euryarchaeota Crenarchaeota Karoarchaeota Nanoarcheota
Euryarchaeota
largest phylum of archaea
euryarchaeota means “broad-ranging archaea: dominated by methanogens
-have diverse habitats and physiologies, including methanogens and halophiles
-some extremely thermophilic aerobes and anaerobes