Energetic

Apuntes

Energetic Basis of Microbial Growth and Persistence in Desert Ecosystems Pok Man Leung,a,b Sean K. Bay,a,b Dimitri V. Meier,c Eleonora Chiri,a,b Don A. Cowan,d Osnat Gillor,e Dagmar Woebken,c Chris Greeninga,b aSchool of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia bDepartment of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Clayton, Victoria, Australia cDivision of Microbial Ecology, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria dCentre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria, South Africa eZuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Sde Boker, Israel ABSTRACT Microbial life is surprisingly abundant and diverse in global desert eco- systems. In these environments, microorganisms endure a multitude of physico- chemical stresses, including low water potential, carbon and nitrogen starvation, and extreme temperatures. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of the energetic mechanisms and trophic dynamics that underpin microbial function in desert ecosystems. Accumulating evidence s...