Publication Date:
2021-03-29
Description:
For a long time, Archaea have been considered as an ancient prokaryotic group comprising specialists restricted to narrow ecological niches. This opinion might have been supported by the characteristics of the first well-investigated isolates, being strictly anaerobic (methanogens), halophilic (haloarchaea), or thermophilic (various groups). This is, however, just the tip of the iceberg. Archaea are abundant in all ecosystems. Representatives of the whole domain span the widest range of ecological adaptations from psychrophilic to hyperthermophilic. They tolerate the widest range of pH as well as salt concentrations and use all types of substrates comprising all kinds of organic molecules as well as reduced inorganic compounds.
Keywords:
Archaea; Geobiochemical Processes; Elemental Cycles
;
551
;
Archaea
;
Biodiversity
;
Methane
;
Soil Microbiology
Language:
English
,
English
Type:
article
,
publishedVersion
Permalink