Microbial Diversity in Extreme Marine Habitats and Their Biomolecules

Abstract

Extreme marine environments have been the subject of many studies and scientific publications. For many years, these environmental niches, which are characterized by high or low temperatures, high-pressure, low pH, high salt concentrations and also two or more extreme parameters in combination, have been thought to be incompatible to any life forms. Thanks to new technologies such as metagenomics, it is now possible to detect life in most extreme environments. Starting from the discovery of deep sea hydrothermal vents up to the study of marine biodiversity, new microorganisms have been identified, and their potential uses in several applied fields have been outlined. Thermophile, halophile, alkalophile, psychrophile, piezophile and polyextremophile microorganisms have been isolated from these marine environments; they proliferate thanks to adaptation strategies involving diverse cellular metabolic mechanisms. Therefore, a vast number of new biomolecules such as enzymes, polymers and osmolytes from the inhabitant microbial community of the sea have been studied, and there is a growing interest in the potential returns of several industrial production processes concerning the pharmaceutical, medical, environmental and food fields.

Exploring Marine Environments for the Identification of Extremophiles and Their Enzymes for Sustainable and Green Bioprocesses

“…In addition, there is a growing interest about the role of marine microorganisms in biogeochemical processes, biotechnology, pollution, and pharmaceutical fields. In recent years, many authors have focused on the potential of marine microorganisms as prolific producers of bioactive substances and exploiting the vast marine microbial treasure for their utilization as novel drug delivery systems [9]. Extremophilic microorganisms are in several extreme marine environments, such as hydrothermal vents, hot springs, salty lakes, and deep-sea floors.…”

“…The development of more automated and affordable techniques for isolating and characterizing marine microbial bioactive metabolites, make marine products more accessible. Actually, the marine habitat represents the most studied environment for the richness related to the diversity of microorganisms and for the potential source of molecules possessing biological activities [9]. In particular, extreme marine environments constitute peculiar ecological niches in which extremophiles thrive developing unique biochemical strategies and features of industrial interest.…”

“…The first and only truly psychrophilic archaeon to be isolated is Methanogenium frigidum, a methanogen from Ace Lake, Antarctica [14]. Taxonomically, cold-loving microbes are found both in Archaea and Eucarya domains; they have been found in free or associated form with sponges for example, and distributed in numerous genera such as Arthrobacter, Colwellia, Exiguobacterium, Gelidibacter, Glaciecola, Halobacillus, Halomonas, Hyphomonas, Listeria, Marinobacter, Methanococcoides, Methanogenium, Moritella, Planococcus, Pseudoalteromonas, Pseudomonas, Psychrobacter, Psychroflexus, Psychromonas, Psychroserpens, Shewanella and Sphingomonas [9,15,16]. In order to understand the adaptation of psychrophiles to these extreme environments, their enzymes should be isolated, cloned, and characterized to gain further insight into their biotechnological potential.…”

Biofouling of FeNP-Coated SWRO Membranes with Bacteria Isolated after Pre-Treatment in the Sea of Cortez

“…In Spain, the dominant halotolerant genera isolated from the Bras del Port salt basins included Salinivibrio, Pseudomonas, Alteromonas, Alcaligenes, Acinetobacter and Flavobacerium. These halotolerant microorganisms have exhibited potential for several applications in the food, pharmaceutical, medical and environmental fields [6].…”

Specific enrichment of hyperthermophilic electroactive Archaea from deep-sea hydrothermal vent on electrically conductive support

“…Considered as primordial environments similar to the early Earth conditions (Martin et al, 2008;Takai et al, 2006), the deep-sea hydrothermal ecosystems are regarded as a good model to study the origins and evolution of life on Earth (Takai et al, 2006). In addition, in recent years many authors have focused on the great potential of extremophilic marine microbes for their use as prolific producers of bioactive substances (enzymes, metabolic products...) (Poli et al, 2017).…”