Question

A microbe is discovered growing beside a deep sea thermal vent near the Galapagos Islands. When researchers bring a sample up to the surface and try to grow it in a lab at room temperature in a normal incubator, they are unsuccessful. Why? A. A barophilic organism might not grow since the pressure is not the same at sea-level as it is on the ocean floor B. Salt concentrations might be different in the media the researchers are attempting to use and the salt water the microbe is used to living in, causing osmotic pressure differences that the microbe cannot tolerate. C. All of the above D. It is possible the microbe is a strict anaerobe and is poisoned by the air (oxygen) in the lab E. It may be a psychrophile - enzymes in the cells are probably outside of their normal operating range at room temperature and therefore nonfunctional

Answer 1

The correct option is ALL OF THE ABOVE.

Step-by-step explanation:

Microbes that live in deep sea thermal vents have characteristics that are quite different from those of microbes that are found in other places. Microbes that live in deep sea thermal vent do not need sunlight and oxygen to survive. Thermal vent microbes lives in salty environments, whose pressure is different from the pressure that is found on the earth surface. Also, the temperature, at which these micro organisms can survive is very high compare to those of microbes that are found at other locations.

Based on these characteristics, a microbe that is found growing near a deep sea thermal vent can not survive at normal room temperature. For the micro organism to grow, the researchers has to duplicate the extreme environmental conditions that are found in the thermal vent, which is the original habitat of the microorganism.