极端微生物及其适应机理的研究进展

极端微生物是生物对极端环境适应的特殊种类 ,研究极端微生物的特性对探索生命的起源、微生物的育种及开发利用等具有重要意义。从嗜热微生物、嗜冷菌和耐冷菌、极端嗜酸微生物、嗜碱微生物、嗜盐微生物、嗜压微生物等方面总结了极端微生物及其适应机理的多样性以及其研究进展 ,旨在为极端微生物的开发利用提供一定的参考依据。     

珠穆朗玛峰北坡可培养石生细菌多样性及抗紫外辐射能力

【背景】珠穆朗玛峰地区具有寒冷低温、强辐射等极端环境条件,珠穆朗玛峰北坡石生微生物研究未见报道。【目的】针对珠穆朗玛峰北坡石生微生物开展研究,阐明珠穆朗玛峰北坡石生生境中可培养细菌多样性,开发珠穆朗玛峰北坡抗紫外辐射菌株资源。【方法】通过可培养法、16S rRNA基因序列分析方法以及紫外辐射筛选对珠穆朗玛峰北坡可培养石生细菌多样性以及抗紫外辐射能力进行研究。【结果】从珠穆朗玛峰北坡石生生境中共分离获得52株石生细菌,归类为放线菌门(Actinobacteria)、厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)、变形菌门(Proteobacteria)和拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes),其中放线菌门和变形菌门为优势菌门,鞘脂单胞菌属、节杆菌属、链霉菌属为优势菌属,有2株菌为潜在新种。从已分离鉴定菌株中筛选出了2株抗紫外辐射能力较高的菌株,分别是芽孢杆菌属菌株ZFBP4009和链霉菌属菌株ZFBP1009。【结论】珠穆朗玛峰北坡石生环境蕴含多样性丰富的石生细菌,所分离菌株抗紫外辐射能力突出,为揭示相关极端环境下微生物的分布特征及极端环境微生物资源开发提供了数据支持及菌株资源。     

石生真菌研究现状与展望

石生真菌是一类生长在裸露岩石上形成紧凑暗色菌落的特殊生命, 在自然界未发现其有性生殖结构, 它们具有丰富的物种多样性。石生真菌是地球上最具耐受力的一种真核生命, 具有独特的适应性, 并进化出各种适应机制以占据严酷的生态位, 它们在细胞结构、代谢方式、抗逆机制等方面具有特殊性。尽管石生真菌很常见,但由于其体积小、生长缓慢并且缺乏明显的形态特征而常常被人们忽视。本文在介绍石生真菌的多样性、研究方法和研究历史的基础上, 重点介绍石生真菌的逆境耐受性和抗逆机制以及石生真菌的应用研究。以期能引起科学工作者对这类特殊生境里的真菌研究的重视, 更好地理解这类真菌在地球上的重要作用。     

极端嗜热微生物及其高温适应机制的研究进展

极端嗜热微生物在高温条件下生长繁殖,其必然具有适应高温环境的特殊细胞结构、基因类型以及生理生化机制。极端嗜热微生物的研究对探索生命的起源以及极端嗜热微生物的开发和应用具有重要意义。对极端嗜热微生物中细胞膜、核酸分子、蛋白质分子、代谢产物和辅酶的高温适应机制的研究进展进行了概述,旨为极端嗜热微生物以及来源于极端嗜热微生物的各种生物分子的开发和应用提供理论依据。     

微生物对低温极端环境适应性的研究进展

嗜冷微生物是地球寒冷环境中最主要的生物类群,并且是驱动全球生物地球化学循环的关键环节。嗜冷微生物在适应策略上显示出应对多种极端环境因素的巨大潜力,研究其适应和进化机制有助于更好地理解微生物与环境之间相互作用过程,并有效利用极端环境微生物资源。近年来,随着分子生物学和基因组学技术的高速发展,对微生物适应寒冷环境的机制及嗜冷微生物在指示气候变化和工农业应用方面均有一系列的突破。在此,本文将从基因组的GC含量、蛋白质稳定性、转录翻译调控、细胞膜流动性、渗透压调节、抗氧化损失和基因组适应性进化等方面总结当前在微生物适应低温环境机制上所取得的进展,并展望低温环境微生物在指示气候变化和工农业应用中的前景。     

微生物生态学驱动社会与经济“绿色高效发展”

面对物种数量繁多、生态分布广泛、生态功能强大的微生物资源,微生物生态学的任务一方面在于不断发现和认识这类生命"暗物质"及其存在机制,另一方面要充分挖掘和利用这些微生物资源。微生物生态学的应用从最早的混合发酵发展到极端微生物资源利用、微生物生态制剂开发逐渐拓展到合成微生物生态等多个领域。2019年10月在湖南省长沙市举行的"中国生态学学会微生物生态专业委员会学术年会"设立了3个与微生物生态学应用相关的分会场,本期《微生物学通报》也开辟了"人工生态系统微生物"栏目,凸显了我国微生物生态学在资源、能源和环境等应用领域的成果,让我们看到了其成为社会与经济"绿色高效发展"重要驱动力的希望。     

深海热液口Epsilon-变形菌的物种多样性与环境适应机理

Epsilon-变形菌是近年来宏基因组调查发现的深海极端环境如热液喷口富集的重要微生物类群,在海洋碳、氮、氢、硫循环中发挥重要作用。目前对这个纲的研究较少,主要来自于16S rRNA的分类鉴定以及深度测序拼接的基因组序列分析。本文总结了目前对Epsilon-变形菌纲的生态分布及多样性调查研究结果,并对深海热液喷口的Epsilon-变形菌的多种能量代谢方式、强大的趋化运动系统以及与底栖生物的共生关系进行了阐述。这些结果初步揭示了Epsilon-变形菌对深海极端环境的适应机制,并推动对这个极端环境富集的细菌分支的生物学特征认知与资源利用。     

微生物能为我们的环境做些什么?──评《微生物生态学》

许多高等学校都在加强培养保护环境和保护生物多样性方面的人才,相继设立了生态学、环境与资源学和环境工程学等学科方面的专业。由于微生物个体微小,增殖速率快,生理遗传功能多样,遗传特性易于改良,很容易适应各种环境,对自然环境和极端环境的物质转化和净化环境起着十分重要的作用,其理论和实践价值极大,研究领域广阔,所以微生物生态学是生物与环境专业必修的一门基础课。正值此关键时候,由山东大学微生物技术国家重点实验室池振明博士编写的《微生物生态学》于今年６月份正式出版了．该书基本上从四个方面阐述了当今微生物生态…     

南极冰下水生态系统微生物与生源元素循环研究进展

南极大陆冰盖下存在液态水,形成了由冰下湖、冰下河/溪、冰封湖和冰架下水体等组成的冰下水生态系统,具有低温、黑暗和寡营养等极端的环境条件特征。微生物主导了南极冰下水生态系统,其具有丰富多样的种群构成、功能形式和独特的适应机制,在生源元素生物地球化学循环过程中起了重要作用。研究南极冰下微生物群落的生态特征及其参与的生源元素地球化学循环过程,可为揭示地球生命演化和探索外星生命提供指示,具有重要的科学意义。本文综述了南极冰下水生态系统的极端环境条件、冰下微生物的多样性、冰下微生物参与的生物地球化学循环以及冰下微生物的适极机理,最后基于研究现状展望了南极冰下微生物的未来研究方向。     

深海极端微生物菌群及代谢产物多样性的研究进展

海洋覆盖了地球表面积的四分之三,它不仅是生命的起源,而且还孕育了各种极端微生物。它们存在于海洋极端环境中,如热液喷口、热泉、咸湖和深海层等,由于生境太过恶劣,一度被认为是生命的禁区。随着人类对深海极端环境微生物研究的不断深入,已经探索到那里具有丰富的菌群资源和具有潜在价值的天然生物活性产物。这些极端微生物能够适应极高温、极低温、高压、高盐、高放射性和极度酸碱性等极端环境,具有特殊的生物多样性、遗传背景和代谢途径,能够产生各种具有特殊功能的酶类及其他活性物质,展现出巨大的研究价值和应用潜力。研究海洋极端微生物对探索生物多样性、新资源开发利用及对地球生物学研究等都具有重要意义。     

极地和深海环境中低温噬菌体研究进展

极地和深海是地球上较为独特的生态系统,生活在其中的生物由于长期处于低温、寡营养和黑暗封闭的环境中,大多缺乏基本的光合作用,而被认为是研究生命进化和地球环境演化等问题的＂活化石＂。在这样的极端环境中,低温噬菌体的丰度却很高,越来越多的证据表明它们在维持这类环境的生态平衡和调控生物地球化学循环等方面扮演着非常重要的角色。对极地与深海中低温噬菌体的研究进行简要综述。     

苔藓植物生态功能的研究进展

苔藓植物虽然个体较小,但种类很多,约有23000多种,是生物多样性的重要组成部分．过去的研究多集中在分类和区系方面,其在生态系统中的作用,即生态功能,一直没有引起足够的认识．苔藓植物对环境有较强的适应能力,在多种极端环境下都有分布,同时对土壤有一定的改造能力．苔藓植物有很强的吸水、保水能力,尤其是树附生苔藓植物能够吸收很大部分的降水,其水文作用相当明显．苔藓植物通过体表吸收了大量的养分元素,以往常常忽略其在养分循环中的作用．在一些极端环境中苔藓植物是重要的初级生产者,泥炭藓的生物量更是相当巨大,可能是重要的C汇．苔藓植物对大气及重金属污染反应非常明显。可以作为良好的生物指示剂．本文综述了苔藓植物生态功能的研究进展,以期促进更加广泛地开展苔藓植物生态功能的研究．     

No need for speed: slow development of fungi in extreme environments

Microbial growth under extreme conditions is often slow. This is partly because large amounts of energy are diverted into cellular mechanisms that allow survival under hostile conditions. Because this challenge is universal and diversity in extreme environments is low compared to non-extreme environments, slow-growing microorganisms are not overgrown by other species. In some cases, especially when nutrients are scarce, slow growth was even shown to increase stress tolerance. And in at least some species of extremotolerant and extremophilic fungi, growth rate appears to be coupled with their very unusual morphologies, which in turn may be an adaptation to extreme conditions. However, there is more than one strategy of survival in extreme environments. Fungi that thrive in extremes can be divided into (i) ubiquitous and polyextremotolerant generalists and (ii) rarely isolated specialists with narrow ecological amplitudes. While generalists can compete with mesophilic species, specialists cannot. When adapting to extreme conditions, the risk of an evolutionary trade-off in the form of reduced fitness under mesophilic conditions may limit the maximum stress tolerance achievable by polyextremotolerant generalists. At the same time, specialists are rarely found in mesophilic environments, which allows them to evolve to ever greater extremotolerance, since a reduction of mesophilic fitness is likely to have little impact on their evolutionary success.     

Phylogenetic diversity and ecology of environmental Archaea

On the basis of culture studies, Archaea were thought to be synonymous with extreme environments. However, the large numbers of environmental rRNA gene sequences currently flooding into databases such as GenBank show that these organisms are present in almost all environments examined to date. Large sequence databases and new fast phylogenetic software allow more precise determination of the archaeal phylogenetic tree, but also indicate that our knowledge of archaeal diversity is incomplete. Although it is apparent that Archaea can be found in all environments, the chemistry of their ecological context is mostly unknown.     

中国哺乳动物生理生态学研究进展与展望

中国哺乳动物生理生态学研究自20世纪50年代始,经过70多年的发展,已系统研究了分布于青藏高原、内蒙古草原、横断山脉等地理分布区的代表性物种的生理适应性,研究主题包括能量代谢和体温调节、冬眠（蛰眠）、水代谢、生态免疫、肠道菌群与宿主的能量代谢和产热调节,研究物种以小型哺乳动物为主。在新时期除了进一步加强对极端环境的生理适应研究外,也需关注大型动物对环境的生理适应,发展新兴领域如保护生理学等,同时要借助多组学技术、同位素技术、遥感技术、红外技术等,加强对动物生理适应的机理性探究。本文回顾了中国哺乳动物生理生态学的发展历程,总结了主要领域取得的重要进展。     

Trophic novelty is linked to exceptional rates of morphological diversification in two adaptive radiations of Cyprinodon pupfish

Adaptive radiations are known for rapid morphological and species diversification in response to ecological opportunity, but it remains unclear if distinct mechanisms drive this pattern. Here, we show that rapid rates of morphological diversification are linked to the evolution of novel ecological niches in two independent Cyprinodon radiations nested within a wide-ranging group repeatedly isolated in extreme environments. We constructed a molecular phylogeny for the Cyprinodontidae, measured 16 functional traits across this group, and compared the likelihoods of single or multiple rates of morphological diversification. We found that rates of morphological diversification within two sympatric Cyprinodon clades containing unique trophic specialists are not part of an adaptive continuum with other clades, but are instead extreme outliers with rates up to 131 times faster than other Cyprinodontidae. High rates were not explained by clade age, but were instead linked to unique trophic niches within Cyprinodon, including scale-eating, zooplanktivory, and piscivory. Furthermore, although both radiations occur in similar environments and have similar sister species, they each evolved unique trophic specialists and high rates of morphological diversification in different sets of traits. We propose that the invasion of novel ecological niches may be a key mechanism driving many classic examples of adaptive radiation.     

Diversity of aerobic and facultative alkalitolerant and halotolerant endospore formers in soil from the Alvord Basin,Oregon

Many proteins produced by Bacillus species isolated from extreme environments have been utilized for industrial purposes, as these extreme environments often promote evolution of unique protein properties. The Borax Lake area is unusual due to its geothermal activity, elevated pH, and high arsenic and salt concentrations in its soils. Soils from this region are likely to harbor alkalitolerant, halotolerant, endospore-forming strains that may be of potential ecological and/or commercial interest. The objectives of this study were to develop new PCR primers that could target Bacillus or closely related 16S rRNA genes, to characterize the diversity of alkalitolerant, halotolerant, endospore-forming organisms in the soils surrounding Borax Lake, and to identify novel organisms that may ultimately provide new enzymes for applied use. A three-pronged approach was used to identify such bacteria in soil samples. Organisms were isolated using two different techniques. Finally, metagenomic DNA from soil samples was subjected to 16S rRNA gene amplification using the newly designed primers. Assays were performed to characterize the halotolerance and alkalitolerance of isolates.     

新疆天山一号冰川地区12种藓类植物叶形态结构研究

采用石蜡切片和扫描电镜的方法,对新疆天山一号冰川地区的12种藓类植物叶片结构及叶表面微形态进行了观察。结果显示,不同苔藓植物叶细胞、中肋、细胞壁、细胞表面等各项指标在类型、大小、分布、干燥时细胞壁的凹陷程度以及表面角质层纹饰和小孔形态、分布等都明显不同,这些微形态特点不仅在藓类植物属下种间的区分上具有分类学意义,同时也反映出藓类植物叶片为保水抗旱,抵御长期寒冷、多风和强光照射等恶劣环境对其的伤害而形成的生存策略。本研究结果为苔藓植物在极端环境地区的生态学功能研究提供了重要的科学依据。     

Extremophilic yeasts: plasma-membrane fluidity as determinant of stress tolerance

Our aim was to investigate the response of selected yeasts and yeast-like fungi from extreme?environments to various temperatures at the level of their plasma membranes, in order to elucidate the connections between their plasma-membrane fluidity (measured by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy - EPR), growth temperature range, stress tolerance, and ecological distribution. Although all studied fungi can be considered mesophilic according to their growth temperature profiles, their plasma-membrane fluidity indicated otherwise. Arctic yeast Rhodosporidium diobovatum could be classified as psychrotolerant?due to its higher average membrane fluidity. Extremely halotolerant black yeast-like fungus Hortaea werneckii isolated from solar salterns, on the other hand, is not adapted to low temperature, which is reflected in the higher average rigidity of its plasma membrane and as a consequence its inability to grow at temperatures lower than 10°C. The plasma membrane of Aureobasidium sp. isolated so far exclusively from an Arctic glacier with its intermediate fluidity and high fluidity variation at different temperatures may indicate the specialization of this yeast-like fungus to the specific glacial environment. Similar behaviour of plasma membrane was detected in the reference yeast, non-extremophilic Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Its membranes of intermediate fluidity and with high fluidity?fluctuation at different temperatures may reflect the specialization of this yeast to mesophilic environments and prevent its colonization of extreme environments. Halotolerant Aureobasidium pullulans from salterns, and Arctic Cryptococcus liquefaciens and Rhodotorula?mucilaginosa with moderately fluctuating plasma membranes of intermediate fluidity are representatives of globally distributed generalistic and stress-tolerant species that can thrive in a variety of environments. Keeping the membranes stable and flexible is one of the necessities for the microorganisms to survive changes in extreme habitats. Our data suggest that plasma-membrane fluidity can be used as an indicator of fitness for survival in the extreme environments. In addition to the average fluidity of plasma membrane, the fluctuation of fluidity is an important determinant of stress tolerance: high absolute fluidity fluctuation is tied to decreased survival. The fluidity and its variation therefore reflect survival strategy and fitness in extreme environments and are good indicators?of the adaptability of microorganisms.     

A perspective on the biotechnological potential of extremophiles.

It is well recognized that many environments considered by man to be extreme are colonized by microorganisms which are specifically adapted to these ecological niches. A diverse range of bacteria, cyanobacteria, algae and yeasts have been isolated from such habitats and it is now widely accepted that these microorganisms provide a valuable resource not only for exploitation in novel biotechnological processes but also as models for investigating how biomolecules are stabilized when subjected to extreme conditions. This short review summarizes our current state of knowledge of this unique group of microorganisms and their enzymes, and attempts to identify their future biotechnological potential.