VILLANUEVA, MA. REJED V.

JULY 4, 2019
CHE 402 ENGR. LINA DELA CRUZ

MESOPHILE

A mesophile is an organism that grows at moderate temperatures. It is different from a

thermophile, which is capable of living at temperature as high as 80°C and above. Mesophiles grow best
at moderate temperatures, i.e. 20 and 45 °C, which are not too hot and not too cold. The
term mesophile generally applies to microorganisms. Bacteria, in particular, may be classified
into thermophilic, mesophilic, and psychrophilic. As noted earlier, the thermophilic bacteria are active
when the temperature is relatively high. Psychrophilic bacteria, in contrast, are active when the
temperature is relatively low. The differing optimal temperature in these bacteria is dependent upon the
bacterial expression of certain alleles resulting in the production of enzymes that function at particular
temperatures.
Organisms categorized as mesophiles (“middle loving”) are adapted to moderate temperatures,
with optimal growth temperatures ranging from room temperature (about 20 °C) to about 45 °C. As
would be expected from the core temperature of the human body, 37 °C (98.6 °F), normal human
microbiota and pathogens (e.g., E. coli, Salmonella spp., and Lactobacillus spp.) are mesophiles.
Some mesophiles are involved in wine and beer making. They are also found in cheese and yogurt.
 Escherichia coli
E. coli is an intestinal pathogen or commensal of the human or animal intestine and is voided in
the faeces remaining viable in the environment only for some days. Detection of E. coli in drinking water
is an indication of pollution with faeces.
E. coli is an intestinal pathogen or commensal of the human or animal intestine and is voided in
the faeces remaining viable in the environment only for some days. Detection of E. coli in drinking water
is an indication of pollution with faeces.

E. coli is Gram-negative straight rod, 1-3 µ x 0.4-0.7 µ, arranged singly or in pairs. It is motile by
peritrichous flagellae, though some strains are non-motile. Spores are not formed. Capsules and fimbriae
are found in some strains. It is an aerobe and a facultative anaerobe. The optimum growth temperature is
37°C. On Nutrient agar, colonies are large, thick, greyish white, moist, smooth, opaque or translucent
discs. The smooth (s) form seen in fresh isolation is easily emulsified in saline, whereas the rough (R)
form often auto agglutinates in saline. Some strains may form “mucoid ” colonies. On MacConkey agar
medium, colonies are bright pink due to lactose fermentation.
 OBLIGATE PSYCHROPHILES

Desulfofrigus oceanense
A psychrophile, also known as a cryophile, is an organism that reproduces and grows best at low
temperatures, typically in the range -10 to 20°C (14 to 68°F). Psychrophiles are a type of extremophile.
Some have been found to thrive in the Arctic and Antarctic oceans, which remain frozen for much of the
year. Others have been recovered from core samples taken from the Greenland ice sheet at depths of
about 3 kilometers. Psychrotolerant organisms, by contrast, are mesophiles that can survive at low
temperatures but grow more slowly.

Psychrophiles possess enzymes that are adapted to function at low temperatures and are
denatured at moderate temperatures. They also exhibit polyunsaturated fatty acids in their lipids.
While sperm banks and bacterial culture collections rely on the preservation of live samples in
liquid nitrogen at -196°C, the lowest recorded temperature for active microbial communities and animals
is much higher at -18°C. Freezing of water located within a cell is almost invariably lethal. The only
exception to this rule known from nature is the nematode Panagrolaimus davidi, which can withstand
freezing of all of its body water. In contrast, freezing of extracellular water – water outside of cells – is a
survival strategy used by a small number of frogs, turtles, and one snake to protect their cells during the
winter. Survival of freezing must include mechanisms to survive thawing, such as the production of
special proteins or cryoprotectants (additives that protect against the cold) called antifreeze proteins. The
other method to survive freezing temperatures is to avoid freezing in the first place. Again antifreeze
molecules are produced which can lower the freezing point of water 9 to 18°C. Fish in Antarctic seas
manage to employ these mechanisms to their advantage. Other changes with low temperature include
changes in the structure of a cell's proteins – most notably their enzymes – so as to allow them to function
at lower temperatures. The fluidity of cell membranes decreases with temperature. In response, organisms
that are able to adapt to cold environments simply increase the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids
thus retaining the required flexibility of membranes.
 PSYCHROTROPHS

Psychrotrophic bacteria are bacteria that are capable of surviving or even thriving in extremely
cold environment. An example of psychrotrophic bacteria is Psychrobacter immobilis

Gram Stain of a Psychrobacter

Psychrobacter immobilis is a Gram-negative, oxidase- and catalase-positive, psychrotrophic,

nonmotile bacterium of the genus Psychrobacterwhich was isolated from cheese, fish, and processed
meat and poultry products.

Psychrotrophic bacteria are capable of surviving or even thriving in extremely cold environment.
They provide an estimation of the product's shelf life, also they can be found in soils,[18] in surface and
deep sea waters, in Antarctic ecosystems, and in foods. They are responsible for
spoiling refrigerated foods.
Psychrotrophic bacteria are of particular concern to the dairy industry. Most are killed
by pasteurization; however, they can be present in milk as post-pasteurization contaminants due to less
than adequate sanitation practices. According to the Food Science Department at Cornell University,
psychrotrophs are bacteria capable of growth at temperatures at or less than 7 °C (44.6 °F). At freezing
temperatures, growth of psychrotrophic bacteria becomes negligible or virtually stops.
 THERMOPHILES

Thermophile bacteria isolated from deep-sea vent fluids.: This organism eats sulfur and
hydrogen and fixes its own carbon from carbon dioxide. (A,B) scanning electron micrographs, and (C,D)
transmission electron micrographs in thin sections.
A thermophile is an organism—a type of extremophile—that thrives at relatively high
temperatures, between 41 and 122 °C (106 and 252 °F). Many thermophiles are archaea.
Thermophilic eubacteria are suggested to have been among the earliest bacteria.
Thermophiles are found in various geothermally heated regions of the Earth, such as hot springs
like those in Yellowstone National Park (see image) and deep sea hydrothermal vents, as well as decaying
plant matter, such as peat bogs and compost.
Thermophiles can survive at high temperatures, whereas other bacteria would be damaged and
sometimes killed if exposed to the same temperatures.
The enzymes in thermophiles necessarily function at high temperatures. Some of these enzymes
are used in molecular biology, for example, heat-stable DNA polymerases for PCR), and in washing
agents.

EXTREME THERMOPHILES
"Extremophiles" are organisms with the ability to thrive in extreme environments such as
hydrothermal vents. Since they live in “extreme environments” (under high pressure and temperature),
they can tell us under which range of conditions life is possible. The unique enzymes used by these
organisms, called "extremozymes," enable these organisms to function in such forbidding environments.
These creatures hold great promise for genetically based medications and industrial chemicals and
processes.

It's important to note that these organisms are 'extreme' only from a human perspective. While
oxygen, for example, is a necessity for life as we know it, some organisms flourish in environments with
no oxygen at all.
 Alicyclobacilli are strictly aerobic, acidophilic, thermophilic, soil-dwelling organisms, and have
been shown to grow at temperatures between 20 and 70 °C (with the optimum temperature range being
42–60 °C) and pH values of 2.0 to 6.0. Alicyclobacilliare of special interest to the fruit juice canning
industry because common pasteurization techniques (92 °C for 10 seconds) do not deactivate the
spores; Alicyclobacillus species can have a D-value of over 8 minutes (requiring treatment of over 8
minutes at 95 °C to kill 90% of spores). When a product is spoiled by Alicyclobacillus, the juice products
develop a disinfectant-like odor and/or flavor (due to guaiacol production), but the bacteria do not cause
swelling of the package or discoloration of the product, nor is it pathogenic to
humans. Alicyclobacilli have been implicated in spoilages of pear, orange, peach, mango, and white grape
juice, fruit juice blends, and tomato products. Not all Alicyclobacilli produce guaiacol, and thus not all
species are of spoilage concern.

REFERENCES
http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/P/psychrophile.html
https://alchetron.com/Alicyclobacillus
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/extremophile.html
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/trident-boundless-microbiology/chapter/thermophiles/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2168224/