Extreme environments on Earth are typically devoid of macro life forms and are inhabited
predominantly by highly adapted and specialized microorganisms. The discovery and …

Fungi are a highly diverse group of heterotrophic eukaryotes characterized by the absence
of phagotrophy and the presence of a chitinous cell wall. While unicellular fungi are far from …

Bacteria play an important role in the fossilization of soft tissues; their metabolic activities
drive the destruction of the tissues and also strongly influence mineralization. Some …

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) occur within drylands throughout the world, covering~ 12%
of the global terrestrial soil surface. Their occurrence in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula …

Coastal microbial mats form a nearly closed micro-scale ecosystem harboring a complex
microbial community. Previous DNA based analysis did not necessarily provide information …

Modern phototrophic microbial mats are complex communities often used as analogs of
major Precambrian ecosystems. Characterizing biotic, notably metabolic, interactions …

Microbial mats are compacted, surface-associated microbial ecosystems reminiscent of the
first living communities on early Earth. While often considered predominantly prokaryotic …

We evaluated the microbial diversity and metabolome profile of an uncommon hypersaline
elastic microbial mat from Cuatro Ciénegas Basin (CCB) in the Chihuahuan Desert of …

The abundance and diversity of fungi were evaluated in a hypersaline microbial mat from
Guerrero Negro, México, using a combination of quantitative polymerase chain reaction …

Soil fungal communities in tropical regions remain poorly understood. In order to increase
the knowledge of diversity of soil-inhabiting fungi, we extracted total DNA from top-organic …