Microbial Life - Educational Resources
This site contains educational and supporting materials for students and teachers of microbiology, including information about microorganisms and extremophiles, and links to online resources about ecology, diversity and evolution of micro-organisms.

Microbial Life in Extreme Environments part of Extreme Environments
The study of extremophiles challenges our concept of the limits of life, informs our quest for the comprehensive tree of life, and helps us to understand how evolution has taken place. About Microbial Extremes ...

Microbial Life in Acidic Environments part of Extreme Environments:Acidic
Created by Mindy Richlen, Marine Biological Laboratory Microorganisms that are able to develop under extreme conditions have recently attracted considerable attention because of their peculiar physiology and ...

Microbial Life in Alkaline Environments part of Extreme Environments:Alkaline
Created by Sarah Bordenstein, Marine Biological Laboratory There are no precise definitions of what characterizes an alkaliphilic or alkalitolerant organism. Several microorganisms exhibit more than one pH optimum ...

Microbial Life in Environments Altered by Humans part of Extreme Environments:Altered by Humans
Created by Julian Deiss Environments Altered by Humans are ones that seem inhospitable to most life. Toxic environments are typically regarded as ones capable of causing injury or death through exposure to ...

Microbial Life and Astrobiology part of Extreme Environments:Astrobiology
Created by Sarah Bordenstein, Marine Biological Laboratory Astrobiology embraces the search for potentially inhabited planets beyond our Solar System, the exploration of Mars and the outer planets, laboratory and ...

Microbial Life in Very Cold Environments part of Extreme Environments:Extremely Cold
Created by: Scott N. Montross, Montana State University "Psychrophiles are defined as organisms having an optimal temperature for growth at about 15ºC or lower, a maximal temperature for growth at about 20º ...

Microbial Life in Extremely Hot Environments part of Extreme Environments:Extremely Hot
Created by Heather Beal, Montana State University "Thermophiles" are microorganisms with optimal growth temperatures between 60 and 108 degrees Celsius, isolated from a number of marine and terrestrial ...

Microbial Life in Hypersaline Environments part of Extreme Environments:Hypersaline
Created by Ashlee Allred and Bonnie K. Baxter, Ph.D., Westminster College, Salt Lake City, UT At salinities greatly exceeding 1.5 M, prokaryotes predominate: The moderately halophilic and haloversatile bacteria at ...

Microbial Life at High Radiation Levels part of Extreme Environments:Radiation
Created by: Scott N. Montross, Montana State University "Bacteria of the genus Deinococcus exhibit an extraordinary ability to withstand the lethal and mutagenic effects of DNA damaging agents-particularly ...