Xerophile
Overview
Xerophiles are extremophilic
organism
s that can grow
and reproduce
in conditions with a low availability of water, also known as water activity
. Water activity
(aw) is a measure of the amount of water within a substrate that an organism can use to support sexual growth. Xerophiles are often said to be "xerotolerant", meaning tolerant of dry conditions. They can survive in environments with water activity
below 0.8. Endolith
s and halophile
s are often xerotolerant.
The common food preservation method of reducing water activities
may not prevent the growth of xerophilic organisms, often resulting in food spoilage.
Extremophile
An extremophile is an organism that thrives in physically or geochemically extreme conditions that are detrimental to most life on Earth. In contrast, organisms that live in more moderate environments may be termed mesophiles or neutrophiles...
organism
Organism
In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...
s that can grow
Cell growth
The term cell growth is used in the contexts of cell development and cell division . When used in the context of cell division, it refers to growth of cell populations, where one cell grows and divides to produce two "daughter cells"...
and reproduce
Biological reproduction
Reproduction is the biological process by which new "offspring" individual organisms are produced from their "parents". Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual organism exists as the result of reproduction...
in conditions with a low availability of water, also known as water activity
Water activity
Water activity or aw was developed to account for the intensity with which water associates with various non-aqueous constituents and solids. Simply stated, it is a measure of the energy status of the water in a system...
. Water activity
Water activity
Water activity or aw was developed to account for the intensity with which water associates with various non-aqueous constituents and solids. Simply stated, it is a measure of the energy status of the water in a system...
(aw) is a measure of the amount of water within a substrate that an organism can use to support sexual growth. Xerophiles are often said to be "xerotolerant", meaning tolerant of dry conditions. They can survive in environments with water activity
Water activity
Water activity or aw was developed to account for the intensity with which water associates with various non-aqueous constituents and solids. Simply stated, it is a measure of the energy status of the water in a system...
below 0.8. Endolith
Endolith
An endolith is an organism that lives inside rock, coral, animal shells, or in the pores between mineral grains of a rock. Many are extremophiles, living in places previously thought inhospitable to life...
s and halophile
Halophile
Halophiles are extremophile organisms that thrive in environments with very high concentrations of salt. The name comes from the Greek for "salt-loving". While the term is perhaps most often applied to some halophiles classified into the Archaea domain, there are also bacterial halophiles and some...
s are often xerotolerant.
The common food preservation method of reducing water activities
Water activity
Water activity or aw was developed to account for the intensity with which water associates with various non-aqueous constituents and solids. Simply stated, it is a measure of the energy status of the water in a system...
may not prevent the growth of xerophilic organisms, often resulting in food spoilage.
