Published May 10, 2002 | public
Journal Article

Geomicrobiology: How Molecular-Scale Interactions Underpin Biogeochemical Systems

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Abstract

Microorganisms populate every habitable environment on Earth and, through their metabolic activity, affect the chemistry and physical properties of their surroundings. They have done this for billions of years. Over the past decade, genetic, biochemical, and genomic approaches have allowed us to document the diversity of microbial life in geologic systems without cultivation, as well as to begin to elucidate their function. With expansion of culture-independent analyses of microbial communities, it will be possible to quantify gene activity at the species level. Genome-enabled biogeochemical modeling may provide an opportunity to determine how communities function, and how they shape and are shaped by their environments.

Additional Information

© 2002 American Association for the Advancement of Science. The authors thank F. Morel, J. Leadbetter, members of the Newman laboratory, J. Macalady and other members of the Banfield laboratory, and anonymous reviewers for their comments on the manuscript. Funding support from the Agouron Institute, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, NASA Astrobiology Institutes, and Office of Naval Research is gratefully acknowledged.

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
October 23, 2023