Microbes Biology: Microbes in Wetland and Bioprospection of Microbes

Abstract

Over-increasing population, climate change, and the environmental pollutants are exerting negative pressure on biodiversity as well as our natural resources. Wetlands are a crucial gear of our natural environment. They support not only biological diversity but also the microbial communities of such systems that play an important role in biogeochemical cycles, global greenhouse gas emission, and nutrient (re)cycling. Therefore, wetlands are ecologically as well as economically indispensable systems owing to their high yield. The highly productive and diverse microbial community inhabitant of wetland ecosystems continuously transforms nutrients from dead vegetation into sources of nitrogen, phosphorous, and other nutrients that can be used by the plants, and in turn the plant-root exudates serve as a food source for the microbes. Unfortunately, the composition and diversity of microorganisms in such type of ecosystems are poorly explored. Hence, the analysis of microbial biodiversity and their correct prospecting from these ecosystems will help in isolating and identifying new and potential microorganisms having high specificity for various applications. This chapter consists of literature on the diversity of predominant microbes such as bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes from 88 wetland ecosystems and on the underlying mechanisms that structure microbial communities in wetland ecosystems.