The following paragraphs are reproduced from the website of the publisher [
1].
Biodiversity of Microbial Life places the importance and novelty of the diversity of the microbial world in perspective with the biodiversity of plants and animals. Microbial diversity has driven the evolution of all life on Earth as well as the nutrient cycles, which are keys to the operation of the biosphere. Microorganisms live in all ecosystems, even extreme environments not habitable to other organisms. Noted experts including Carl Woese, the originator of the Tree of Life, and Rita Colwell, who is now Director of the National Science Foundation, offer their unique perspectives on the extent and importance of microbial biodiversity. Special emphasis is placed on:
Evolution, speciation, and contrasts between microbial biodiversity and plant and animal biodiversity
Physiological and metabolic diversity of microorganisms
Biodiversity of microbial life in terrestrial and marine environments
Symbioses between microorganisms and plants, insects, and humans
Extreme environments populated exclusively or primarily by microorganisms including thermal vents and hot springs, polar sea ice environments, and subterranean ecosystems
Microorganisms and biotechnology
Biodiversity of Microbial Life is an essential resource for all biologists interested in biodiversity.
Table of Contents:
Preface.
Contributors.
Perspective: Microbiology in Transition (C. Woese).
PART I: EVOLUTION AND DIVERSITY OF MICROORGANISMS IN ECOSYSTEMS.
A Microbiological Perspective of Biodiversity (J. Staley).
Natural History of Microorganisms Inhabiting Hot Spring Microbial Mat Communities: Clues to the Origin of Microbial Diversity and
Implications for Microbiology and Marcobiology (D. Ward, et al.).
Microbial Mats and Biofilms: Evolution, Structure, and Function of Fixed Microbial Communities (A. Teske & D. Stahl).
PART II: PHYSIOLOGICAL AND METABOLIC DIVERSITY OF MICROORGANISMS.
Evolution of Energy Metabolism (J. Leigh).
Evolution and Diversity of Photosynthethic Prokaryotes (B. Pierson).
Diversity of Microbial Heterotrophic Metabolism (J. Perry).
PART III: MICROBIAL DIVERSITY OF MAJOR ECOSYSTEMS.
Exploring the Diversity of Soil&mdaaash;A Microbial Rain Forest (D. Buckley & T. Schmidt).
Marine Prokaryote Diversity (M. Suzuki & E. DeLong).
PART IV: BIODIVERSITY AND ROLE OF MICROORGANISMS IN PLANT AND ANIMAL SYMBIOSES.
Plant—Microbe Symbioses:Microbe Symbioses: An Evolutionary Survey (R. Goodman & J. Weisz).
Insights from Insect-Microbe Symbioses (M. Kane & U. Mueller).
Getting in Touch with Your Prokaryotic Self: Mammal—Microbe Interactions (A. Salyers & J. Shipman).
PART V: MICROBIAL DIVERSITY OF EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS.
Microbial Diversity of Marine and Terrestrial Thermal Springs (A.-L. Reysenbach, et al.).
And Some Like it Cold: Sea Ice Microbiology (J. Staley, et al.).
The Deep Subsurface Biosphere (T. Stevens).
PART VI: MICROBIAL DIVERSITY, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE OF BIODIVERSITY.
Exploiting Microbial Diversity (A. Kuo & G. Garrity).
The Future of Microbial Diversity Research (R. Colwell).
Index.
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Editor’s Note: The brief summary and the contents of the books are reported as provided by the author or the publishers. Authors and publishers are encouraged to send review copies of their recent books of potential interest to readers of
Molecules to the Editor-in-Chief (Dr. Shu-Kun Lin, MDPI, Saengergasse 25, CH-4054 Basel, Switzerland. Tel. +41 79 322 3379, Fax +41 61 302 8918, E-mail:
[email protected]). Some books will be offered to the scholarly community for the purpose of preparing full-length reviews.
