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UNKNOWN LIMIT. "The lower temperature limit is apparently set by the freezing temperature of intracellular water, whereas the upper pressure limit for life is not known." Culture conditions and capture of these adapted creatures is extremely demanding. Thus, we know almost nothing about them. https://lnkd.in/dvfGnsZ View in LinkedIn

CHANGED METABOLISM. "In many organisms, there is an upregulation of genes involved in glycolysis, gluconeogenesis and glycogen metabolism during a high pressure exposure, also accompanied by high ATP levels. This could be explained as a stress response and a reflection of the need to rapidly manage energy and osmotic stability." http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-biochemical-adaptations-that-piezophiles-make-to-protect-their-proteins-lipids-DNA View in LinkedIn

GIANT GLOBAL NICHE. "Low temperature and high pressure deep-sea environments occupy the largest fraction of the biosphere. Within these environments psychrophiles exist which can grow at temperatures as low as -12 °C, and piezophiles (also termed barophiles) exist which can grow at pressures as high as 130 megapascal." https://lnkd.in/dvfGnsZ View in LinkedIn

LOW MW OSMOLYTES. "Protein function can be preserved at higher pressures by the accumulation of protein-stabilizing solutes. Several such solutes have been found to be upregulated in certain piezophiles, which have been suggested to protect proteins and cellular membranes from inactivation or denaturation." http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-biochemical-adaptations-that-piezophiles-make-to-protect-their-proteins-lipids-DNA View in LinkedIn

LARGE SCALE ADAPTATION. "Proteins of haloarchaea are either resistant to high salt concentrations or require salt for activity. Both genome sequencing and proteome analysis have shown that they contain an excess proportion of acidic to basic amino acids, a feature likely to be required for protein activity at high salinity." These changes include completely restructured metabolisms. https://lnkd.in/dQM9KcT View in LinkedIn

OBLIGATE PIEZOPHILES. Some Piezophilic bacteria can only live in extreme pressure conditions, because their pressure specific genes, pressure-adapted enzymes and metabolism, can only function in this pressure-cooker. https://lnkd.in/dHAV7X6 View in LinkedIn

CRYSTAL LATTICE. "A well-studied feature of haloarchaea is the purple membrane, found in specialised regions of the cell membrane, which contains a two-dimensional crystalline lattice of a single chromoprotein, bacteriorhodopsin." https://lnkd.in/dQM9KcT View in LinkedIn

FLEXIBLE EXTERNAL LATERAL GENE TRANSFER POOL. "Despite the strong pressure on bacteria to maintain a small genome size by deleting the more expendable sequences from their genomes, advantages provided by some regions allow the maintenance of a flexible gene pool." Like an external hard drive for a small computer. https://lnkd.in/dN5QSUS View in LinkedIn

PROTEIN LATTICES. "Some halophiles make use of the protein bacteriorhodopsin. This compound of bacterioopsin and retinal is found in the membranes of some halophiles in lattice shaped areas, giving the membrane a purple color and sometimes covering more than 50% of the entire membrane surface. The function of this protein is to act as a light dependant proton pump." https://lnkd.in/dFvvrKf View in LinkedIn

GENETIC SHIFTS. "Investigations with piezophilic isolates have identified genes required for growth at elevated pressure, pressure responsive genes and gene products, and general categories of cellular processes which, if disrupted, result in specific growth impairment at high pressure. Examples of these processes include cell division and membrane homeostasis." https://lnkd.in/d4AhBiy View in LinkedIn