Geomicrobiology: Molecular and Environmental Perspective

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

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2. Chemoautotrophic Origin of Life: The Iron–Sulfur World Hypothesis

   • Günter Wächtershäuser

   Pages 1-35

3. Evolution of Metabolic Pathways and Evolution of Genomes

   • Giovanni Emiliani, Marco Fondi, Pietro Liò, Renato Fani

   Pages 37-68

4. Novel Cultivation Strategies for Environmentally Important Microorganisms

   • Jörg Overmann

   Pages 69-89

5. Environmental Proteomics: Studying Structure and Function of Microbial Communities

   • Thomas Schneider, Kathrin Riedel

   Pages 91-108

6. Analysis of Microbial Communities by Functional Gene Arrays

   • Joy D. Van Nostrand, Zhili He, Jizhong Zhou

   Pages 109-126

7. Probing Identity and Physiology of Uncultured Microorganisms with Isotope Labeling Techniques

   • Alexander Loy, Michael Pester

   Pages 127-145

8. The Geomicrobiology of Arsenic

   • Rhesa N. Ledbetter, Timothy S. Magnuson

   Pages 147-168

9. Bioinformatics and Genomics of Iron- and Sulfur-Oxidizing Acidophiles

   • Violaine Bonnefoy

   Pages 169-192

10. The Geomicrobiology of Catastrophe: A Comparison of Microbial Colonization in Post-volcanic and Impact Environments

    • Charles Seaton Cockell

    Pages 193-217

11. Microbial Diversity of Cave Ecosystems

    • Annette Summers Engel

    Pages 219-238

12. Statistical Evaluation of Bacterial 16S rRNA Gene Sequences in Relation to Travertine Mineral Precipitation and Water Chemistry at Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, USA

    • Héctor García Martín, John Veysey, George T. Bonheyo, Nigel Goldenfeld, Bruce W. Fouke

    Pages 239-249

13. Compositional, Physiological and Metabolic Variability in Microbial Communities Associated with Geochemically Diverse, Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Fluids

    • Ken Takai, Kentaro Nakamura

    Pages 251-283

14. The Molecular Geomicrobiology of Bacterial Manganese(II) Oxidation

    • Bradley M. Tebo, Kati Geszvain, Sung-Woo Lee

    Pages 285-308

15. Role of Microorganisms in Banded Iron Formations

    • Inga Koehler, Kurt Konhauser, Andreas Kappler

    Pages 309-324

16. Synergistic Roles of Microorganisms in Mineral Precipitates Associated with Deep Sea Methane Seeps

    • Huifang Xu

    Pages 325-346

17. Bacterial Degradation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls

    • Martina Mackova, Ondrej Uhlik, Petra Lovecka, Jitka Viktorova, Martina Novakova, Katerina Demnerova et al.

    Pages 347-366

18. Role of Clay and Organic Matter in the Biodegradation of Organics in Soil

    • Laura E. McAllister, Kirk T. Semple

    Pages 367-384

19. Electrodes as Electron Acceptors, and the Bacteria Who Love Them

    • Daniel R. Bond

    Pages 385-399

20. The Biogeochemistry of Biomining

    • David Barrie Johnson

    Pages 401-426

The interaction of microorganisms with geological activities results in processes influencing development of the Earth’s geo- and biospheres. In assessing these microbial functions, scientists have explored short- and longterm geological changes attributed to microorganisms and developed new approaches to evaluate the physiology of microbes including microbial interaction with the geological environment. As the field of geomicrobiology developed, it has become highly interdisciplinary and this book provides a review of the recent developments in a cross section of topics including origin of life, microbial-mineral interactions and microbial processes functioning in marine as well as terrestrial environments. A major component of this book addresses molecular techniques to evaluate microbial evolution and assess relationships of microbes in complex, natural c- munities. Recent developments in so-called ‘omics’ technologies, including (meta) genomics and (meta)proteomics, and isotope labeling methods allow new insights into the function of microbial community members and their possible geological impact. While this book summarizes current knowledge in various areas, it also reveals unresolved questions that require future investigations. Information in these chapters enhances our fundamental knowledge of geomicrobiology that contributes to the exploitation of microbial functions in mineral and environmental biotechn- ogy applications. It is our hope that this book will stimulate interest in the general field of geomicrobiology and encourage others to explore microbial processes as applied to the Earth.

• bioinformatics
• biome
• ecosystem
• ecosystems
• environment
• genes
• microbe
• microbiology
• microorganism
• microorganisms

• Dept. Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA

  Larry L. Barton

• , Faculty of Science, Dept. of Biochmistry, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

  Martin Mandl

• , Department of Microbial Ecology, Fac. of, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

  Alexander Loy

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