Survivability and Adaptation of Organisms to High Pressure and Low Temperature Conditions

Survivability and Adaptation of Organisms to High Pressure and Low Temperature Conditions

Moneeb Mirza

Abstract

        The survivability of the Shewanella Oneidensis MR1 bacterium has been investigated under difference environments with pressure and temperature dependence researched. Wild-type strains were grown in lysogeny broth (LB) at 25 and 30 °C and subsequently plated at a temperature range of 22 – 37 °C. It has been shown that the initial temperature of growth has an effect on the colony forming unit (CFU) counts at the subsequent temperature of growth.

        Previously pressurised strains of Shewanella Oneidensis MR1 have also undergone the same investigation and have proved to be more resilient than their wild-type counterparts thus indicating that pressurisation allows increased resistance to variable temperature.

        Re-pressurised strains plated directly after pressurisation exhibit extremely low survivability in the 22 – 37 °C, in single digit units, however the CFU counts are not effected by temperature, rather the pressure is the overriding factor. At 19 °C with pressurisation at 1 GPa complete death has been observed.

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