Adaption of Microbial Life to Environmental Extremes : Novel Research Results and Application

"Once considered exceptional rarities, extremophiles have become attractive objects for basic and applied research ranging from nanotechnology to biodiversity to the origins of life and even to the search for extraterrestrial life. Several novel aspects of extremophiles are covered in this book; the focus is firstly on unusual and less explored ecosystems such as marine hypersaline deeps, extreme cold, desert sands, and man-made clean rooms for spacecraft assembly. Secondly, the increasingly complex field of applications from extremophile research is treated and examples such as novel psychrophilic enzymes, compounds from halophiles, and detection strategies for potential extraterrestrial life forms are presented"--Publisher Front Matter....Pages i-xi Physico-chemical boundaries of life....Pages 1-19 Microbial diversity in deep hypersaline anoxic basins....Pages 21-36 Microbial speciation in the geothermal ecosystem....Pages 37-67 Bacterial adaptation to hot and dry deserts....Pages 69-85 Extremophiles in Antarctica: Life at low temperatures....Pages 87-118 Anhydrobiotic rock-inhabiting cyanobacteria: Potential for astrobiology and biotechnology....Pages 119-132 Psychrophilic microorganisms as important source for biotechnological processes....Pages 133-172 Halophilic microorganisms from man-made and natural hypersaline environments: Physiology, ecology, and biotechnological potential....Pages 173-197 Applications of extremophiles in astrobiology: Habitability and life detection strategies....Pages 199-229 Extremophiles in spacecraft assembly clean rooms....Pages 231-261 Back Matter....Pages 263-282 Once considered exceptional rarities, extremophiles have become attractive objects for basic and applied research ranging from nanotechnology to biodiversity to the origins of life and even to the search for extraterrestrial life. This book covers several novel aspects of extremophiles.