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Episodes 2007; 30(3): 202-216

Published online September 1, 2007

https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2007/v30i3/003

Copyright © International Union of Geological Sciences.

Geomicrobiological processes in extreme environments: A review

Hailiang Dong1, 2, Bingsong Yu1,3

1Geomicrobiology Laboratory, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, China.
2Department of Geology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA. Email: dongh@muohio.edu
3School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, China.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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.