Abstract:Hyper-arid deserts present extreme challenges to life. The environmental buffering provided by quartz and other translucent rocks allows hypolithic microbial communities to develop on sub-soil surfaces of such rocks. These refuge communities have been reported, for many locations worldwide, to be predominantly cyanobacterial in nature. Here we report the discovery in Antarctica's hyper-arid McMurdo Dry Valleys of three clearly distinguishable types of hypolithic community. Based on gross colonization morphology and identification of dominant taxa, we have classified hypolithic communities as Type I (cyanobacterial dominated), Type II (fungal dominated) and Type III (moss dominated). This discovery supports a growing awareness of the high biocomplexity in Antarctic deserts, emphasizes the possible importance of cryptic microbial communities in nutrient cycling and provides evidence for possible successional community processes within a cold arid landscape.

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Aims: To optimize peroxidase production by Streptomyces sp. strain BSII#1, up to 3 l culture volumes. Methods and Results: Peroxidase production by Streptomyces sp. strain BSII#1 was optimized in terms of production temperature and pH and the use of lignin-based model chemical inducers. The highest peroxidase activity (1Á30 AE 0Á04 U ml À1