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Sheds new light on the microbial ecology and physiology of the Earth’s polar regions. • Examines the microbial investigations during the International Polar Year of 2008 focusing on the Arctic and Antarctic, along with earlier investigations on critical environmental issues such as climate change, ozone depletion, and elemental cycling. • Offers a survey of what is known and unknown about the microbial inhabitants of polar environments, addresses the adaptations and physiology of cold-adapted microorganisms, and explores the ecological role that polar microbial communities play in biogeochemical cycling. • Presents the challenges that polar and subpolar microorganisms face and describes the lowest temperatures in which microbial life can exist—and the prospects for life on other planets. Recommended for a general microbiology audience as well as for scientists and students in all areas of biology and geomicrobiology.
Extremophiles have been studied for many decades - these microorganisms can thrive under a vast range of conditions, including extreme temperature, pH, pressure, radiation, salinity, energy, and nutrient limitation. Life in extreme environments has evolved to render solutions that overcome the challenges presented by such conditions. Among these solutions include extremozymes and extremolytes, an invaluable collection of natural, renewable, and biological resources with immense potential for applications aimed at the development of a sustainable bio-economy, especially in biotechnology and other industrial sectors. In line with this observation, extremophilic DNA polymerases have been instru...
This is the comprehensive story of NASA’s pioneering Mars 2020 mission, which at this moment continues to break ground on the surface of the Red Planet. The book takes readers through every stage of the Mars mission, describing its major goals and objectives, the cutting-edge technology and instrumentation onboard the Perseverance rover and other spacecraft components, and the members of the scientific team who steered the mission along the way. Mars 2020 is the first to actually take samples of the Red Planet and prepare them for subsequent return to Earth. The chapters therefore delve into how and why Jezero Crater was selected as the optimal landing and sample collecting site to meet the mission objectives. Featuring dozens of high-resolution images of the mission, this book gives readers a deeper understanding of the technology underlying Mars 2020 and why its work is so important for planetary science and space exploration.
Antimicrobial resistance has existed in nature long before the discovery of antibiotics. The mechanisms of resistance are prevalent among the bacterial population. Over a period of time and facilitated by indiscriminate usage of antibiotics, these mechanisms are transferred from one type of bacteria to another, including the pathogenic ones. In addition, the rate of discovery of novel antimicrobials is much slower than the rate of evolution of antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, there is a need for alternative strategies to control antimicrobial resistance to save lives. In this book, the novel strategies to combat antimicrobial resistance are described, emphasizing collaborative measures of control. We describe the concerted efforts undertaken by global communities to combat antimicrobial resistance in detail. The most efficient strategy could be a behavioral change towards indiscriminate consumption, usage, and prescription of antibiotics.
Water is usually referred to as the ‘Molecule of Life’. It constitutes the most abundant molecule in living (micro)organisms and is also essential for critical biochemical reactions, both for the global functioning and maintenance of Ecosystems (e.g., Photosynthesis) and individual (microbial) cells (e.g., ATP hydrolysis). However, most of Earth’s terrestrial environments present deficiencies in bioavailable water. Arid environments cover around a third of the land’s surface, are found on the six continents and, with the anthropogenic desertification phenomenon, will increase. Commonly defined by having a ratio of precipitation to potential evapotranspiration (P/PET) below 1, arid en...
This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact.
This book brings together many of the world’s leading experts in the fields of Antarctic terrestrial soil ecology, providing a comprehensive and completely up-to-date analysis of the status of Antarctic soil microbiology. Antarctic terrestrial soils represent one of the most extreme environments on Earth. Once thought to be largely sterile, it is now known that these diverse and often specialized extreme habitats harbor a very wide range of different microorganisms. Antarctic soil communities are relatively simple, but not unsophisticated. Recent phylogenetic and microscopic studies have demonstrated that these communities have well established trophic structuring and play a significant role in nutrient cycling in these cold and often dry desert ecosystems. They are surprisingly responsive to change and potentially sensitive to climatic perturbation. Antarctic terrestrial soils also harbor specialized ‘refuge’habitats, where microbial communities develop under (and within) translucent rocks. These cryptic habitats offer unique models for understanding the physical and biological ‘drivers’ of community development, function and evolution.
Uniquely comprehensive and up to date, this book covers terrestrial as well as extraterrestrial drilling and excavation, combining the technology of drilling with the state of the art in robotics. The authors come from industry and top ranking public and corporate research institutions and provide here real-life examples, problems, solutions and case studies, backed by color photographs throughout. The result is a must-have for oil companies and all scientists involved in planetary research with robotic probes. With a foreword by Harrison "Jack" Schmitt -- the first geologist to drill on the moon.
Microbiologists have become interested in applying "systems biology" to understand and harness complex biological processes in microbial communities. A systems approach, which attempts to use comparative, high-throughput assays, and mathematical or computational models, has been used to generate a picture of system-wide activity that can yield insight into processes operating within a single cell. But the concept of integrating advances in genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics and incorporating them into mathematical models can also be applied to microbial ecosystems, which typically occur in consortia of related and unrelated organisms. Research on microbial communities using a system-base...