Geomicrobiological processes in extreme environments: A review

Abstract

The last decade has seen an extraordinary growth of Geomicrobiology. Microorganisms have been studied in numerous extreme environments on Earth, ranging from crystalline rocks from the deep subsurface, ancient sedimentary rocks and hypersaline lakes, to dry deserts and deep-ocean hydrothermal vent systems. In light of this recent progress, we review several currently active research frontiers: deep continental subsurface microbiology, microbial ecology in saline lakes, microbial formation of dolomite, geomicrobiology in dry deserts, fossil DNA and its use in recovery of paleoenvironmental conditions, and geomicrobiology of oceans. Throughout this article we emphasize geomicrobiological processes in these extreme environments.