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Ecology and habitats of extremophiles

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Abstract

This review describes the main natural extreme environments, characterized by high temperature, high and low pH and high salinity, that can be colonized by microorganisms. The environments covered are: freshwater alkaline hot springs; acidic solfatara fields; anaerobic geothermal mud and soils; acidic sulphur and pyrite areas; carbonate springs and alkaline soil; and soda and highly saline lakes. The community structure, in terms of available energy sources and representative autotrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms, is discussed for each type of habitat.

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Authors
  1. J. K. Kristjánsson
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  2. G. O. Hreggvidsson
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Additional information

The authors are with the Department of Biotechnology. Technological Institute of Iceland, Keldnaholt, 112 Reykjavik, Iceland and with the Institute of Biology, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

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Kristjánsson, J.K., Hreggvidsson, G.O. Ecology and habitats of extremophiles. World Journal of Microbiology & Biotechnology 11, 17–25 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00339134

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