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Diazotrophic Microbial Mats

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Microbial Mats

Part of the book series: Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology ((COLE,volume 14))

Abstract

Microbial mats have been the focus of scientific research for a few decades. These small-scale ecosystems are examples of versatile benthic communities of microorganisms, usually dominated by phototrophic bacteria (e.g., Krumbein et al., 1977; Jørgensen et al., 1983). They develop as vertically stratified populations of functionally different groups of microorganisms along physicochemical gradients (Fig. 1). The stratification of these functional groups of microorganisms has been attributed to the prevailing gradients of oxygen, sulfide, and light, which are generated and maintained by the metabolic activities of the community members (Revsbech et al., 1983; van Gemerden, 1993). Microbial mats are found in a wide variety of different environments such as, for example, marine intertidal flats, hypersaline and alkaline environments, hot springs, and hot and cold deserts. The diversity in environments supporting the growth of microbial mats is only exceeded by the genetic and metabolic diversity of mat-inhabiting organisms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, 4401, NT, Yerseke, The Netherlands

    Ina Severin & Lucas J. Stal

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  1. Ina Severin
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  2. Lucas J. Stal
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Correspondence to Ina Severin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Jerusalem, Mevo Hadas 20, Efrat, 90435, Israel

    Joseph Seckbach

  2. Inst. Life Sciences, Div. Microbial and Molecular Ecology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat Ram Campus, Jerusalem, 91 904, Israel

    Aharon Oren

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Severin, I., Stal, L.J. (2010). Diazotrophic Microbial Mats. In: Seckbach, J., Oren, A. (eds) Microbial Mats. Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, vol 14. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3799-2_17

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