''Alvinella pompejana'', the Pompeii worm, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of deep-sea
polychaete
Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class (biology), class of generally marine invertebrate, marine annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that ...
worm
Worms are many different distantly related bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limbs, and no eyes (though not always).
Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine polychaete wor ...
(commonly referred to as "bristle worms"). It is an
extremophile
An extremophile (from Latin ' meaning "extreme" and Greek ' () meaning "love") is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e. environments that make survival challenging such as due to extreme temper ...
found only at
hydrothermal vent
A hydrothermal vent is a fissure on the seabed from which geothermally heated water discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hotspot ...
s in the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, discovered in the early 1980s off the
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...
by
French marine biologists
Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifie ...
.
Introduction
In 1980
Daniel Desbruyères and
Lucien Laubier, just few years after the discovery of the first hydrothermal vent system, identified one of the most heat-tolerant animals on Earth — ''Alvinella pompejana'', the Pompeii worm.
It was described as a deep-sea polychaete that resides in tubes near hydrothermal vents, along the seafloor. In 1997, marine biologist
Craig Cary and colleagues found the same worms in a new section of Pacific Ocean, near
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, also attached to hydrothermal vents. The new discovery and subsequent work led to important progress in the scientific knowledge of these special worms.
They can reach up to in length and are pale gray, with red tentacle-like gills on their heads. Perhaps most fascinating, their tail ends are often resting in temperatures as high as , while their feather-like heads stick out of the tubes into water that is a much cooler, .
[ Scientists are attempting to understand how Pompeii worms can withstand such extreme temperatures by studying the bacteria that form a "fleece-like" covering on their backs. The bacteria have also been discovered to be ]chemolithotrophic
Lithotrophs are a diverse group of organisms using an inorganic substrate (usually of mineral origin) to obtain reducing equivalents for use in biosynthesis (e.g., carbon dioxide fixation) or energy conservation (i.e., ATP production) via aerobi ...
, contributing to the ecology of the vent community. Recent research suggests the bacteria might play an important role in the feeding of the worms.
Attaching themselves to black smoker
A hydrothermal vent is a fissure on the seabed from which geothermally heated water discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hotspot ...
s, the worms have been found to thrive at sustained temperatures of from and even for a short time, making the Pompeii worm the most heat-tolerant complex animal known to science after the tardigrade
Tardigrades (), known colloquially as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals. They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773, who called them Kleiner Wasserbär ...
s (or water bears), which are able to survive temperatures over 150 °C.
Biology
Reaching a length of up to , Pompeii worms have "hairy" backs; these "hairs" are actually colonies of bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
such as ''Nautilia profundicola
''Nautilia profundicola'' is a Gram-negative chemolithoautotrophic bacterium found around hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean. It was first discovered in 1999 on the East Pacific Rise at depth of , on the surface of the polychaete worm ''Alvin ...
'', which are thought to afford the worm some degree of insulation. Glands on the worm's back secrete a mucus on which the bacteria feed, a form of symbiosis
Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...
. The Pompeii worms form large, aggregate colonies enclosed in long tubes.
''Alvinella pompejana'' has relatively simple organ systems
An organ system is a biological system consisting of a group of organs that work together to perform one or more functions. Each organ has a specialized role in a plant or animal body, and is made up of distinct tissues.
Plants
Plants have ...
centering around its rod-like heart
The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...
. Its outermost organ is the gills along its feather-shaped head, four external gills External gills are the gills of an animal, most typically an amphibian, that are exposed to the environment, rather than set inside the pharynx and covered by gill slits, as they are in most fishes. Instead, the respiratory organs are set on a frill ...
present as leaf-like structures with a red colour due to their haemoglobin
Hemoglobin (haemoglobin BrE) (from the Greek word αἷμα, ''haîma'' 'blood' + Latin ''globus'' 'ball, sphere' + ''-in'') (), abbreviated Hb or Hgb, is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein present in red blood cells (erythrocyte ...
. The heart provides blood to these organs using contractions, pushing blood along the dorsal and ventral vessels. Beneath the heart lies the animal's stomach which connects to an oesophagus that is used to consume food. Finally, surrounding the organs is a coelom
The coelom (or celom) is the main body cavity in most animals and is positioned inside the body to surround and contain the digestive tract and other organs. In some animals, it is lined with mesothelium. In other animals, such as molluscs, it r ...
filled with coelomocytes, a type of phagocyte
Phagocytes are cells that protect the body by ingesting harmful foreign particles, bacteria, and dead or dying cells. Their name comes from the Greek ', "to eat" or "devour", and "-cyte", the suffix in biology denoting "cell", from the Greek ...
that acts as an immune system for the animal.
The Pompeii Worm feeds upon chemosynthetic
In biochemistry, chemosynthesis is the biological conversion of one or more carbon-containing molecules (usually carbon dioxide or methane) and nutrients into organic matter using the oxidation of inorganic compounds (e.g., hydrogen gas, hydro ...
bacteria, using retractable, ciliated feeding tentacles to scoop them up or absorbing their organic matter within the hydrothermal vent fluid. These tentacles are coated with 4 types of secretory cells along the entire epidermis
The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the amount of water rele ...
. The tentacle’s muscle cells seem to be filled with homogenous blood cells and individual hat-shaped cells, the hat-shaped cells have a condensed nucleus and it is hypothesised that these are heavily modified sperm cells.
The gills of ''A. pompejana'' are pinnate
Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...
with many thin outgrowths. This organ is ultrastructurally similar to the gills of ''terebellidae'' and the epidermis is irregularly folded inwards. This gives the blood access to a space very close to the skin of ''A. pompejana'', thus allowing more effective oxygen diffusion. Secretory cells of the goblet type have also been observed, along with hairlike receptor cells known as bipolar ciliary receptor cells. It is important to note that the Pompeii worm’s epibiotic
An epibiont (from the Ancient Greek meaning "living on top of") is an organism that lives on the surface of another living organism, called the basibiont ("living underneath"). The interaction between the two organisms is called epibiosis. An epi ...
bacteria are absent from both the gills and tentacles.
Physiology
''Alvinella pompejana’s'' blood is abnormally cool at 20-30°C. This is due to their blood's high positive cooperativity
Cooperativity is a phenomenon displayed by systems involving identical or near-identical elements, which act dependently of each other, relative to a hypothetical standard non-interacting system in which the individual elements are acting indepen ...
at these temperatures, thus haemoglobin
Hemoglobin (haemoglobin BrE) (from the Greek word αἷμα, ''haîma'' 'blood' + Latin ''globus'' 'ball, sphere' + ''-in'') (), abbreviated Hb or Hgb, is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein present in red blood cells (erythrocyte ...
is more likely to gain oxygen, an essential feature in an environment with sparse oxygen levels. Additionally, ''A. pompejana's'' gills have the highest specific surface area
Specific surface area (SSA) is a property of solids defined as the total surface area of a material per unit of mass, (with units of m2/kg or m2/g) or solid or bulk volume (units of m2/m3 or m−1).
It is a physical value that can be used to det ...
of any polychaete and small diffusion distances between the circulatory system and external seawater further assist in oxygenation.
''Alvinellidae'' have an exceptionally high congenital oxygen affinity and high heat is needed for oxygenation (𝚫H), to allow adequate release of oxygen within the body, the Pompeii worm has acidic blood with a pH range of 6.6-6.9. A lower pH decreases the energy required to unbind oxygen from haemoglobin by utilising the bohr effect
The Bohr effect is a phenomenon first described in 1904 by the Danish physiologist Christian Bohr. Hemoglobin's oxygen binding affinity (see oxygen–haemoglobin dissociation curve) is inversely related both to acidity and to the concentration o ...
. The effect gradually compounds as the haemoglobin’s 4 O2 binding sites are emptied, it is maximal when the haemoglobin is fully deoxygenated. As a result, they can release all possible oxygen without expending excessive energy. To further compound this, ''A. pompejana’s'' vascular
The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away f ...
haemoglobin has a lower oxygen affinity when compared to coelomic
A body cavity is any space or compartment, or potential space, in an animal body. Cavities accommodate organs and other structures; cavities as potential spaces contain fluid.
The two largest human body cavities are the ventral body cavity, and ...
haemoglobin. When it is time to rebind oxygen to the haemoglobin, the blood must be cooled to 20-30°C to regain optimal cooperativity. However, hydrothermal vents reach much higher temperatures. This makes the low blood temperature strange and seemingly hard to maintain.
The current hypothesis is that the polychaete
Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class (biology), class of generally marine invertebrate, marine annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that ...
worm somehow maintains an “ external microenvironment” that does not exceed this 20-30°C limit. This is supported by evidence that ''A. pompejana’s'' mitochondrion
A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used ...
break down when 30°C is exceeded, despite this the worm still manages to live in vents that exceed 50°C. Furthermore, an inverse relationship is drawn between 𝚫H value and the temperature range of an environment; a higher 𝚫H means a habitat has a smaller range of temperatures with fewer fluctuations. As ''A. pompejana'' has a high 𝚫H it is reasonable to theorise that their habitable temperature range is quite small with few fluctuations.
Reproduction
''Alvinella pompejana'' are a gonochoric
In biology, gonochorism is a sexual system where there are only two sexes and each individual organism is either male or female. The term gonochorism is usually applied in animal species, the vast majority of which are gonochoric.
Gonochorism c ...
species with distinct differences between the male and female genital pores (located at the base of the gills). Males have a pair of tentacles near the mouth that are absent in females. However, females possess a genital tract consisting of oviducts
The oviduct in mammals, is the passageway from an ovary. In human females this is more usually known as the Fallopian tube or uterine tube. The eggs travel along the oviduct. These eggs will either be fertilized by spermatozoa to become a zygote, ...
and spermathecae
The spermatheca (pronounced plural: spermathecae ), also called receptaculum seminis (plural: receptacula seminis), is an organ of the female reproductive tract in insects, e.g. ants, bees, some molluscs, oligochaeta worms and certain other in ...
. The exact method of reproduction is unknown but it is believed that it is a complex multi-step process. However, it is known that the Pompeii worm's habitat rapidly changes and is extremely unstable, and thus their reproduction has adapted accordingly.
The size of the female oocytes
An oocyte (, ), oöcyte, or ovocyte is a female gametocyte or germ cell involved in reproduction. In other words, it is an immature ovum, or egg cell. An oocyte is produced in a female fetus in the ovary during female gametogenesis. The female ge ...
suggests that the embryo is lecithotrophic
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and m ...
meaning the only nutrition is within the yolk of the egg. Prior to fertilisation these oocytes are flattened spheres with an undulating membrane and a slightly off centre germinal vesicle that is less dense than the surrounding cytoplasm
In cell biology, the cytoplasm is all of the material within a eukaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, except for the cell nucleus. The material inside the nucleus and contained within the nuclear membrane is termed the nucleoplasm. The ...
. Upon dilution in seawater, they become spherical and the GV disappears, at this point the whole oocyte appears homogeneous. This process does not require sperm.
The current hypothesis for egg synthesis and spawning
Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquati ...
is as follows: first the yolk is formed through a long process within the animal's coelom
The coelom (or celom) is the main body cavity in most animals and is positioned inside the body to surround and contain the digestive tract and other organs. In some animals, it is lined with mesothelium. In other animals, such as molluscs, it r ...
, next, the mature eggs are stored and finally, the eggs are spawned when either an environmental or biological change occurs (eg. sperm transfer). The method for transfer of spermatozoa
A spermatozoon (; also spelled spermatozoön; ; ) is a motile sperm cell, or moving form of the haploid cell that is the male gamete. A spermatozoon joins an ovum to form a zygote. (A zygote is a single cell, with a complete set of chromosomes, ...
it is likely achieved through pseudo-copulatory behaviour as the worms have been observed diving head-first into tubes in a display that may be mating.
When it is deemed appropriate to fertilise the eggs they are seemingly selected based upon size and then individually passed through the spermathecae
The spermatheca (pronounced plural: spermathecae ), also called receptaculum seminis (plural: receptacula seminis), is an organ of the female reproductive tract in insects, e.g. ants, bees, some molluscs, oligochaeta worms and certain other in ...
. This method of fertilisation is more efficient than having all eggs be passed through at once.
Between 30 minutes and several hours after fertilisation has been achieved, the fertilisation envelope progressively elevates. This begins at a single point along the periphery of the oocyte
An oocyte (, ), oöcyte, or ovocyte is a female gametocyte or germ cell involved in reproduction. In other words, it is an immature ovum, or egg cell. An oocyte is produced in a female fetus in the ovary during female gametogenesis. The female ...
. Then, prior to the first cleavage, a polar lobe forms thus resulting in asymmetrical cleavages. The diameter ratio between the asymmetrical blastomeres
In biology, a blastomere is a type of Cell (biology), cell produced by cleavage (embryo), cell division (cleavage) of the zygote after fertilization; blastomeres are an essential part of blastula formation, and blastocyst formation in mammals.
Hum ...
remains fairly constant (1:1.5) with "4 cell" embryos typically possessing 1 cell bigger than the other 3. This is a similar to the pattern observed in other polychaetes
Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine annelid worms, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are mad ...
.
Early Development
Although ''in situ
''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...
'' observations are yet to be made of ''Alvinella pompejana’s'' early development, experiments have been conducted in order to hypothesise the embryonic and early stages of this polychaete's life.
Embryos
An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sper ...
of the Pompeii Worm are unable to tolerate both low and high temperatures, only developing in temperatures higher than 2°C and lower than 20°C. At 2°C, the temperature of the abyssal sea, embryos enter a state of arrested development and at 20°C the embryos die. Thus, they must not develop in hydrothermal vent colonies as temperatures much higher than 20°C are achieved in this habitat.
Both ''in vitro
''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology an ...
'' and ''in situ
''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...
'' incubation supported the hypothesis that embryonic development within an adult colony is impossible. To test their theory, researchers placed embryos in 3 areas, (I1) at the base of the chimney, (I2) in a ''Riftia pachyptila
''Riftia pachyptila'', commonly known as the giant tube worm and less commonly known as the Giant beardworm, is a marine invertebrate in the phylum Annelida (formerly grouped in phylum Pogonophora and Vestimentifera) related to tube worms ...
'' colony and (I3) in an adult colony. Results are presented in the below table with the highest survival and development rate coming from the (I1) and (I2) placements. It is also important to note that although the max temperature directly next to the (I3) incubator was 17°C, temperatures as high as 27°C were recorded 20cm away.
After considering all results, as well as prior studies, it was concluded that the 3 most likely hypotheses are as follows.
# Embryos develop within a Riftia pachyptila
''Riftia pachyptila'', commonly known as the giant tube worm and less commonly known as the Giant beardworm, is a marine invertebrate in the phylum Annelida (formerly grouped in phylum Pogonophora and Vestimentifera) related to tube worms ...
colony (often near hydrothermal vents)
# Embryos develop at the base of hydrothermal chimneys
# Embryos enter a state of arrest and float in the abyssal
The abyssal zone or abyssopelagic zone is a layer of the pelagic zone of the ocean. "Abyss" derives from the Greek word , meaning bottomless. At depths of , this zone remains in perpetual darkness. It covers 83% of the total area of the ocean an ...
column until a warm environment is found before resuming development (this would allow the dispersal of the species)
Tubes
The Pompeii worm is known for the tubes that it inhabits. Further research has uncovered that these tubes are unusually stable glycoprotein
Glycoproteins are proteins which contain oligosaccharide chains covalently attached to amino acid side-chains. The carbohydrate is attached to the protein in a cotranslational or posttranslational modification. This process is known as glycos ...
structures with high sulfur
Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
levels. Their construction was originally unknown but it is now hypothesised that the structure is made from a secretion from the epidermis
The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the amount of water rele ...
of ''Alvinella pompejana''. The fibril layers of the tubing are layered in a similar manner to plywood
Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...
with each layer being slightly random. Within these tubes a layer of filamentous
The word filament, which is descended from Latin ''filum'' meaning " thread", is used in English for a variety of thread-like structures, including:
Astronomy
* Galaxy filament, the largest known cosmic structures in the universe
* Solar filament ...
and rod-shaped bacteria
A bacillus (), also called a bacilliform bacterium or often just a rod (when the context makes the sense clear), is a rod-shaped bacterium or archaeon. Bacilli are found in many different taxonomic groups of bacteria. However, the name ''Bacillu ...
are present, strangely these same bacteria can be found embedded within the walls of the tubes. It has been assumed that these are the bacteria that live in the worm's tubing, they seem to become trapped when the mucous is secreted. Additionally bacteria have been found to be a source of elemental sulfur which explains the sulfur detected within their tube walls.
Name
Pompeii worms get their name from the Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
city of Pompeii
Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
that was destroyed during an eruption
Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...
of Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of s ...
in AD 79. Its family name Alvinellidae
The Alvinellidae are a family of small, deep-sea polychaete worms endemic to hydrothermal vents in the Pacific Ocean. Belonging to the order Terebellida, the family contains two genera, ''Alvinella'' and ''Paralvinella''; the former genus cont ...
and genus name ''Alvinella'' both derive from DSV ''Alvin
Alvin may refer to:
Places Canada
*Alvin, British Columbia United States
*Alvin, Colorado
*Alvin, Georgia
*Alvin, Illinois
* Alvin, Michigan
*Alvin, Texas
* Alvin, Wisconsin, a town
*Alvin (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community
Other ...
'', the three-person submersible vehicle used during the discovery of hydrothermal vents and their fauna during the late 1970s. The family Alvinellidae contains eight other species, but none matches the Pompeii worm's heat tolerance.
Symbiotic Bacteria
While it is not yet known precisely how the Pompeii worm survives these severe vent conditions, scientists suspect the answer lies in the fleece-like bacteria on the worm's back; this layer may be up to 1 cm thick. The bacteria may possess special proteins
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
, " eurythermal enzymes
Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecule ...
", providing the bacteria—and by extension the worms—protection from a wide range of temperatures. Studies are hampered by the difficulties of sampling; It is currently quite difficult for Pompeii Worms to survive decompression.
The bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
are known to live in a mutualistic relationship with ''A. pompejana'', making them both symbiotrophs. The main nutrition for the Pompeii worm is derived from chemosynthetic
In biochemistry, chemosynthesis is the biological conversion of one or more carbon-containing molecules (usually carbon dioxide or methane) and nutrients into organic matter using the oxidation of inorganic compounds (e.g., hydrogen gas, hydro ...
bacteria, this is why it chooses to live in such intense environments. This is due to the toxic metal levels of hydrothermal vent fluid, a factor chemosynthetic
In biochemistry, chemosynthesis is the biological conversion of one or more carbon-containing molecules (usually carbon dioxide or methane) and nutrients into organic matter using the oxidation of inorganic compounds (e.g., hydrogen gas, hydro ...
bacteria require. Unfortunately, the low pH, low oxygen levels and aforementioned metals within the fluid create an environment only fit for extremophiles
An extremophile (from Latin ' meaning "extreme" and Greek ' () meaning "love") is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e. environments that make survival challenging such as due to extreme temper ...
; ''A. pompejana'' has physiological
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
traits to assist in combating this but they are not enough. As a result, they have developed a strong relationship with the bacteria. The bacteria detoxify the fluid, this allows the worm to feed and live. Then, as the worm lives it respires, thus giving the bacteria a carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent
In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...
source to feed upon. As an additional benefit, the bacteria gain shelter and surfaces to multiply upon due to the worm’s tubes.
Study of the Pompeii worm's seemingly life-sustaining bacteria could lead to significant advances in the biochemical
Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology an ...
, pharmaceutical
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...
, textile
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
, paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...
, and detergent
A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleansing properties when in dilute solutions. There are a large variety of detergents, a common family being the alkylbenzene sulfonates, which are soap-like compounds that are more ...
industries.
Behavior
Pompeii worms simultaneously keep their heads (including the gills) in much cooler water while their tails are exposed to hot water. Since their internal temperature has yet to be measured, a Pompeii worm may survive exposure to hot water by dissipating heat through its head to keep its internal temperature within the realm previously known to be compatible with animal survival.
References
External links
Exploratorium: The worm that boasts the world's hottest lifestyle
Mission to the Abyss: includes an interactive 3D rendering of a Pompeii worm
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2092096
Terebellida
Thermophiles
Animals living on hydrothermal vents
Animals described in 1980