What is an Anaerobe?
An anaerobe is an organism which is capable of thriving in an environment without oxygen, and in some cases may actually need an environment with limited or no oxygen to live. Many anaerobes are microorganisms, but some larger organisms are also anaerobic, such as the massive tubeworms found near hydrothermal vents. Anaerobes are of interest to humans for a number of reasons, not least of which is that some can cause infections and disease when ingested by humans. A true anaerobe is known as “obligate,” because it needs an environment without oxygen, and it cannot survive in areas with atmospheric oxygen. Facultative anaerobes, on the other hand, can live in areas with varying levels of oxygen, taking advantage of changing conditions. Other types of anaerobes have oxygen requirements which differ from the norm, such as microaerophilic organisms, which need low levels of oxygen to live. Some of these organisms use fermentation to gather energy, while others may utilize anaerobic respira
