Astrobiology of life on Earth.
Journal
Environmental microbiology
ISSN: 1462-2920
Titre abrégé: Environ Microbiol
Pays: England
ID NLM: 100883692
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
07 2021
07 2021
Historique:
received:
01
04
2021
accepted:
02
04
2021
pubmed:
6
4
2021
medline:
16
11
2021
entrez:
5
4
2021
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Astrobiology is mistakenly regarded by some as a field confined to studies of life beyond Earth. Here, we consider life on Earth through an astrobiological lens. Whereas classical studies of microbiology historically focused on various anthropocentric sub-fields (such as fermented foods or commensals and pathogens of crop plants, livestock and humans), addressing key biological questions via astrobiological approaches can further our understanding of all life on Earth. We highlight potential implications of this approach through the articles in this Environmental Microbiology special issue 'Ecophysiology of Extremophiles'. They report on the microbiology of places/processes including low-temperature environments and chemically diverse saline- and hypersaline habitats; aspects of sulphur metabolism in hypersaline lakes, dysoxic marine waters, and thermal acidic springs; biology of extremophile viruses; the survival of terrestrial extremophiles on the surface of Mars; biological soils crusts and rock-associated microbes of deserts; subsurface and deep biosphere, including a salticle formed within Triassic halite; and interactions of microbes with igneous and sedimentary rocks. These studies, some of which we highlight here, contribute to our understanding of the spatiotemporal reach of Earth'sfunctional biosphere, and the tenacity of terrestrial life. Their findings will help set the stage for future work focused on the constraints for life, and how organisms adapt and evolve to circumvent these constraints.
Identifiants
pubmed: 33817931
doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.15499
doi:
Types de publication
Editorial
Introductory Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
3335-3344Subventions
Organisme : Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
ID : BBF003471
Pays : United Kingdom
Informations de copyright
© 2021 The Authors. Environmental Microbiology published by Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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