Microbial Ecosystems in Central Andes Extreme Environments
Microbial Ecosystems in Central Andes Extreme Environments

Author: María Eugenia Farías

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-05-27

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 3030361926

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The Central Andean Altiplane represents a unique extreme environment due to its high altitude, closed basins that modulate the salt pans and saline wetlands surrounded by deserts, as well as the considerable influence of volcanic activity. UV radiation, arsenic content, high salinity, alkalinity and low dissolved oxygen levels, together with extreme daily temperature fluctuations and oligotrophic conditions, shape an environment that resembles the early Earth and, even more, extraterrestrial conditions. By developing simple biofilms stratified microbial mats or complex microbialites, extreme microbial ecosystems, colonize and thrived in different environments like salt flats, wetlands, lakes volcano vents, geysers and deserts. This book presents our current understanding of these amazing ecosystems, providing a basis for their protection and sustainable utilization. The main audience for this book included researchers and graduate students as well as professionals working in the government, mining industry and similar activities.

Mars analogs: Environment, Habitability and Biodiversity
Mars analogs: Environment, Habitability and Biodiversity

Author: Yiliang Li

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2023-06-15

Total Pages: 145

ISBN-13: 2832526527

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Martian surface contains diverse lithologies (from sedimentary rocks to mafic-ultramafic igneous rocks) and ground patterns. These rocks record the late-stage evolution on the Martian surface from a temperate environment with bodies of liquid water to the current cold and hyper-arid environment. The constraints on the key parameters and processes for water-rock interaction, sedimentation of materials, and geomorphological development can provide important insights into the environmental change and habitability on the Martian surface. However, due to the difficulty in accessing Martian samples and limited remote-sensing data available from the Martian surface, most of the mysteries on Mars remain unraveled. In this proposed research topic we will focus on geological settings on Earth that are similar to the conditions on Mars. These Mars analogs are employed to infer possible processes on Mars and their impact on habitability and the search for life. The Mars analogs on Earth span a variety of environments, such as the super-arid sedimentary plains (e.g., the Qaidam Basin in the north of the Tibetan Plateau, the Mojave Basin in the USA, and the Atacama Desert in South America), the subsurface fracture waters in Precambrian cratons (e.g., the Canadian Shield, the Fennoscandian Shield, and the Kaapvaal Craton), high salinity localities (e.g. Laguna de Tírez, salt mines, and deep-sea brines) as well as extremely cold and highly radiative environments (e.g., polar regions, thin atmosphere). These settings on Earth are more accessible for collecting high-quality mineralogical, geochemical, geochronological, and microbiological data by the state-of-the-art facilities. These data can provide a solid cornerstone for us to understand the cycles of water and other life-essential elements, and their impact on habitability and biodiversity in extreme environments on Earth as well as the limits of life and the detection of biosignatures. Such research can also provide vital insights on the search for life on other planets and moons.

Microbial Nexus for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment
Microbial Nexus for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment

Author: Vineet Kumar

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2024-08-01

Total Pages: 473

ISBN-13: 1040092675

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Microbial ecology is pivotal in wastewater treatment, where microorganisms play a vital role in breaking down organic matter and ultimately reduce the levels of contaminants in treated water, making it safe for reuse in agriculture, industry, and other applications. The book, Microbial Nexus for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment: Resources, Efficiency, and Reuse, ventures into the dynamic world of microbial ecosystems, unveiling their pivotal role in reshaping wastewater treatment technologies. This book addresses novel microbial techniques related to sustainable, efficient technologies of wastewater treatment and wastewater reuse as well as obtaining high-quality effluents from treatment plants. Features: Unveils the potential of high-throughput microbial biotechnology for transforming wastewater management. Describes the microbial nexus involved in the biodegradation of pharmaceutical micropollutants. Highlights the valuable materials recoverable from wastewater, associated challenges, and diverse opportunities arising from effective wastewater management. Covers advanced bioremediation technologies designed to handle emerging pollutants. Demonstrates the integration of nanotechnology with bioaugmentation, exploring potential advantages and disadvantages that shape the future of wastewater treatment. Provides insights into adopting a circular economy model aligning with sustainable development goals for resource extraction. This book is tailored for graduate students and researchers in wastewater treatment, waste valorization, environmental engineering, and hazardous waste management.

Microbiology of Hot Deserts
Microbiology of Hot Deserts

Author: Jean-Baptiste Ramond

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-07-28

Total Pages: 359

ISBN-13: 303098415X

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This book covers the wider aspects of the microbiology of hot desert soil ecosystems, compiling disparate information from a range of relevant desert soil microbial fields. The reader learns about microbial ecology of the more dominant and possibly most important desert habitats, detailing the phylogenetic and functional diversity of these different habitats as well as their potential role in desert ecosystem ecology. Particular attention is also given to microbial stress adaptation in hot desert soils. Furthermore, it is the first volume in this particular field to cover modern metagenomics technologies that can be applied to studies of all aspects of desert microbial communities. Additionally, the book explores viruses and viral communities, which are among the least studied (and little understood) components of desert soil microbial communities. Particular attention is also given to the roles of desert microbial communities in biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Through this book the reader discovers how desert microbiology has been at the forefront of Astrobiology and how it may be used conceptually in future terraforming strategies. Desert ecosystems are increasingly coming into focus given the impacts of climate change and desertification trends, making this volume particularly timely. Each of the chapters is authored by leading international researchers and is a must-read for microbial ecologists.

Astrobiology and Cuatro Ciénegas Basin as an Analog of Early Earth
Astrobiology and Cuatro Ciénegas Basin as an Analog of Early Earth

Author: Valeria Souza

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-07-14

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 3030460878

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Astrobiology not only investigates how early life took hold of our planet but also life on other planets – both in our Solar System and beyond – and their potential for habitability. The book take readers from the scars on planetary surfaces made by space rocks to the history of the Solar System narrated by those space rocks as well as exoplanets in other planetary systems. But the true question is how life arose here or elsewhere. Modern comparative genomics has revealed that Darwin was correct; a set of highly conserved genes and cellular functions indicate that all life is related by common ancestry. The Last Universal Common Ancestor or LUCA sits at the base of the Tree of Life. However, once that life took hold, it started to diversify and form complex microbial communities that are known as microbial mats and stromatolites. Due to their long evolutionary history and abundance on modern Earth, research on the biological, chemical and geological processes of stromatolite formation has provided important insights into the field of astrobiology. Many of these microbialite-containing ecosystems have been used as models for astrobiology, and NASA mission analogs including Shark Bay, Pavilion and Kelly Lakes. Modern microbialites represent natural laboratories to study primordial ecosystems and provide proxies for how life could evolve on other planets. However, few viral metagenomic studies (i.e., viromes) have been conducted in microbialites, which are not only an important part of the community but also mirror its biodiversity. This book focuses on particularly interesting sites such as Andean lake microbialites, a proxy of early life since they are characterized by very high UV light, while Alchichica and Bacalar lakes are characterized by high-salt and oligotrophic waters that nurture stromatolites. However, it is only the oasis of Cuatro Ciénegas Basin in México that stored past life in its marine sediments of the Sierra de San Marcos. This particular Sierra has a magmatic pouch that moves the deep aquifer to the surface in a cycle of sun drenched life and back to the depths of the magmatic life in an ancient cycle that now is broken by the overexploitation of the surface water as well as the deep aquifer in order to irrigate alfalfa in the desert. The anthropocene, the era of human folly, is killing this unique time machine and with it the memory of the planet.

Extreme Environments
Extreme Environments

Author: Anita Pandey

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2021-06-24

Total Pages: 379

ISBN-13: 1000285561

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The book Extreme Environments: Unique Ecosystems – Amazing Microbes is an attempt to showcase the uniqueness of extremophiles, the largely unexplored group that has the abilities to function in hostile conditions and represent the very ancient life forms that thrived on earth billions of years ago. The book covers a wide range of research achievements in the field of microbiology of extreme environments right from the conventional approaches of cultivation to recently evolved high throughput sequencing technologies. The book provides a broad spectrum of information about the taxonomy, physiology, ecology and biotechnological applications of extremophiles from various extreme environments across the globe.

Molecular Diversity of Environmental Prokaryotes
Molecular Diversity of Environmental Prokaryotes

Author: Thiago Bruce Rodrigues

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2016-08-19

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 1482233258

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This book correlates the vast genetic diversity associated with environmental samples and still underexploited potential for the development of biotechnology products. The book points out the potential of different types of environmental samples. It presents the main characteristics of microbial diversity, the main approaches used for molecular characterization of the diversity, and practical examples of application of the exploration of the microbial diversity. It presents a not-yet-explored structure for discussing the main topics related to molecular biology of environmental prokaryotes and their biotechnological applications.