Maintaining a stable phospholipid bilayer

Reference no: EM1383902

Two and a half miles below the ocean surface in areas where the Earth’s tectonic plates are moving apart are hydrothermal vents. While the majority of the ocean is 2°C (35°F), hydrothermal vents, which open up to the magma below the surface, are usually 60-464°C (140-867°F). In addition, hydrothermal vents release a combination of water and dissolved inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide and sulfides (molecules containing sulfur and other elements such as iron and copper). At these depths in the ocean, there is absolutely no light, and the hydrostatic pressure of the water is 300 atmospheres (300 times the pressure we experience at sea level).

With such extreme conditions, you would assume that hydrothermal vents are a barren wasteland. Nonetheless, a thriving biological community can be found living on and around these hydrothermal vents.

Compose a short paragraph (2-4 sentences) to answer each of the following.

Organisms that live near hydrothermal vents have cell membranes that are adapted to extremely warm temperatures. Explain how they can maintain a stable phospholipid bilayer in terms of the fatty acid composition.
A warm fluid can dissolve more solute than a cold fluid. The water near the hydrothermal vents has a much higher concentration of salt than the rest of the ocean. Most marine organisms are isotonic to the seawater they live in. What would happen to an organism that inadvertently wandered into a hydrothermal vent community? Would that organism’s cells be isotonic, hypertonic or hypotonic compared to the water near the vent?

Reference no: EM1383902

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