Polyextremophile
Encyclopedia
A polyextremophile is an organism which combines several extremophilic
features. For example, a polyextremophile living at the summit of a mountain in the Atacama Desert
might be a radioresistant xerophile
, a psychrophile
, and an oligotroph
. Polyextremophiles are well known for their ability to tolerate both high and low pH
levels.
Extremophile
An extremophile is an organism that thrives in physically or geochemically extreme conditions that are detrimental to most life on Earth. In contrast, organisms that live in more moderate environments may be termed mesophiles or neutrophiles...
features. For example, a polyextremophile living at the summit of a mountain in the Atacama Desert
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America, covering a strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. It is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world...
might be a radioresistant xerophile
Xerophile
Xerophiles are extremophilic organisms that can grow and reproduce in conditions with a low availability of water, also known as water activity. Water activity is a measure of the amount of water within a substrate that an organism can use to support sexual growth. Xerophiles are often said to...
, a psychrophile
Psychrophile
Psychrophiles or cryophiles are extremophilic organisms that are capable of growth and reproduction in cold temperatures, ranging from −15°C to +10°C. Temperatures as low as −15°C are found in pockets of very salty water surrounded by sea ice. They can be contrasted with thermophiles, which...
, and an oligotroph
Oligotroph
An oligotroph is an organism that can live in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients. They may be contrasted with copiotrophs, which prefer nutritionally rich environments...
. Polyextremophiles are well known for their ability to tolerate both high and low pH
PH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
levels.