An extremophile is an organism which is able to survive in the harshest of conditions. Acidophiles thrive in very acidic conditions, thermophiles thrive in environments with extremely high temperatures, psychrophiles thrive in very very low temperatures. There are many other types of extremophiles, one for every type of harsh environment in which organisms thrive in. If there are so many different types, then what extremophile is the most extreme?
According to Artis Micropia, the most extreme extremophile discovered right now is the
Deinococcus Radiodurans. This extremophile is a psychrophile, a xerophile, an acidophile; or in other words: a polyextremophile which can survive extreme cold, droughts, thin air, acidic, and high radioactivity conditions.
This organism was discovered by accident during an experiment. In 1956, Arthur Anderson was conducting an experiment at the Oregon Agriculture Experiment Station in Oregon. This experiment consisted of sterilizing canned food with high doses of radiation in order to determine if this was a sustainable way of sterilizing food. Although all forms of bacteria and life were killed, the Deinococcus Radiodurans stayed standing.
Another interesting fact about this organism is that there is potential for this type of extremophile to survive on Mars, which would give us evidence for our ongoing research about life on Mars.
Photo of Deinococcus Radiodurans