Answer to Question #284861 in Microbiology for Mayuka

Question

Monty wants to engineer a super archaea which can survive and thrive in extremely hot and hypersaline water. What characteristics should she use to achieve the organism? Provide at least 3 and justify your answer

Answer 1

This strategy requires adaptation of the intracellular enzymatic machinery, as proteins should maintain their proper conformation and activity at near-saturating salt concentrations. The proteome of such organisms is highly acidic, and most proteins denature when suspended in low salt. Such microorganisms generally cannot survive in low salt media.