Geomicrobiology is the scientific field at the intersection of geology and microbiology and is a major subfield of geobiology. It concerns the role of microbes on geological and geochemical processes and effects of minerals and metals to microbial growth,activity and survival. Such interactions occur in the geosphere,the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. Geomicrobiology studies microorganisms that are driving the Earth's biogeochemical cycles,mediating mineral precipitation and dissolution,and sorbing and concentrating metals. The applications include for example bioremediation,mining,climate change mitigation and public drinking water supplies.
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university in Boulder,Colorado. Founded in 1876,five months before Colorado became a state,it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado system. CU Boulder is a member of the Association of American Universities,a selective group of major research universities in North America,and is classified among R1:Doctoral Universities –Very high research activity. In 2021,the university attracted the support of over $634 million for research and spent $536 million on research and development according to the National Science Foundation,ranking it 50th in the nation.
Aeroplankton are tiny lifeforms that float and drift in the air,carried by wind. Most of the living things that make up aeroplankton are very small to microscopic in size,and many can be difficult to identify because of their tiny size. Scientists collect them for study in traps and sweep nets from aircraft,kites or balloons.
The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) is a research institute that is sponsored jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and the University of Colorado Boulder (CU). CIRES scientists study the Earth system,including the atmosphere,hydrosphere,cryosphere,biosphere,and geosphere,and communicate these findings to decision makers,the scientific community,and the public.
In microbiology,the phyllosphere is the total above-ground surface of a plant when viewed as a habitat for microorganisms. The phyllosphere can be further subdivided into the caulosphere (stems),phylloplane (leaves),anthosphere (flowers),and carposphere (fruits). The below-ground microbial habitats are referred to as the rhizosphere and laimosphere. Most plants host diverse communities of microorganisms including bacteria,fungi,archaea,and protists. Some are beneficial to the plant,others function as plant pathogens and may damage the host plant or even kill it.
Immobilization in soil science is the conversion of inorganic compounds to organic compounds by micro-organisms or plants by which the compounds become inaccessible to plants. Immobilization is the opposite of mineralization. In immobilization,inorganic nutrients are taken up by soil microbes and become unavailable for plant uptake. Immobilization is therefore a biological process controlled by bacteria that consume inorganic nitrogen and form amino acids and biological macromolecules. Immobilization and mineralization are continuous processes that occur concurrently whereby nitrogen of the decomposing system is steadily transformed from an inorganic to an organic state by immobilization and from an organic to an inorganic state by decay and mineralization.
Bioaerosols are a subcategory of particles released from terrestrial and marine ecosystems into the atmosphere. They consist of both living and non-living components,such as fungi,pollen,bacteria and viruses. Common sources of bioaerosols include soil,water,and sewage.
The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) was a United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) research initiative to improve understanding of the microbiota involved in human health and disease. Launched in 2007,the first phase (HMP1) focused on identifying and characterizing human microbiota. The second phase,known as the Integrative Human Microbiome Project (iHMP) launched in 2014 with the aim of generating resources to characterize the microbiome and elucidating the roles of microbes in health and disease states. The program received $170 million in funding by the NIH Common Fund from 2007 to 2016.
Norman Richard Pace Jr. is an American biochemist,and is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Molecular,Cellular and Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado. He is principal investigator at the Pace lab.
Edward Francis DeLong,is a marine microbiologist and professor in the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawaii,Manoa,and is considered a pioneer in the field of metagenomics. He is best known for his discovery of the bacterial use of the rhodopsin protein in converting sunlight to biochemical energy in marine microbial communities.
Soil microbiology is the study of microorganisms in soil,their functions,and how they affect soil properties. It is believed that between two and four billion years ago,the first ancient bacteria and microorganisms came about on Earth's oceans. These bacteria could fix nitrogen,in time multiplied,and as a result released oxygen into the atmosphere. This led to more advanced microorganisms,which are important because they affect soil structure and fertility. Soil microorganisms can be classified as bacteria,actinomycetes,fungi,algae and protozoa. Each of these groups has characteristics that define them and their functions in soil.
Mary K. Firestone is a professor of soil microbiology in the Department of Environmental Studies,Policy,and Management at the University of California,Berkeley and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Her laboratory's research focuses on the ecology of microbes in various soils,and their contribution to the carbon cycle and nitrogen cycle in particular.
A microbiome is the community of microorganisms that can usually be found living together in any given habitat. It was defined more precisely in 1988 by Whipps et al. as "a characteristic microbial community occupying a reasonably well-defined habitat which has distinct physio-chemical properties. The term thus not only refers to the microorganisms involved but also encompasses their theatre of activity". In 2020,an international panel of experts published the outcome of their discussions on the definition of the microbiome. They proposed a definition of the microbiome based on a revival of the "compact,clear,and comprehensive description of the term" as originally provided by Whipps et al.,but supplemented with two explanatory paragraphs. The first explanatory paragraph pronounces the dynamic character of the microbiome,and the second explanatory paragraph clearly separates the term microbiota from the term microbiome.
Catherine Anne Lozupone is an American microbiologist who specializes in bacteria and how they impact human health. Her noted work in trying to determine what constitutes "normal" gut bacteria,led to her creation of the UniFrac algorithm,used by researchers to plot the relationships between microbial communities in the human body.
Noah David Finkelstein is a professor of physics at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is a founding co-director of the Colorado Center for STEM Learning,a President’s Teaching Scholar,and the inaugural Timmerhaus Teaching Ambassador. His research focuses on physics education and on developing models of context,the scope of which involves students,departments,and institutional scales of transformation. In 2010,Finkelstein testified to the United States House Committee on Science,Space and Technology on how to strengthen undergraduate and postgraduate STEM education.
Cristina Takacs-Vesbach is an American microbial ecologist conducting research on the productivity,diversity,and function of microbial communities living at the two extremes of temperature found on Earth-Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys and Yellowstone National Park's thermal springs.
Microbiomes of the built environment is a field of inquiry into the communities of microorganisms that live in human constructed environments like houses,cars and water pipes. It is also sometimes referred to as microbiology of the built environment.
The branches of microbiology can be classified into pure and applied sciences. Microbiology can be also classified based on taxonomy,in the cases of bacteriology,mycology,protozoology,and phycology. There is considerable overlap between the specific branches of microbiology with each other and with other disciplines,and certain aspects of these branches can extend beyond the traditional scope of microbiology In general the field of microbiology can be divided in the more fundamental branch and the applied microbiology (biotechnology). In the more fundamental field the organisms are studied as the subject itself on a deeper (theoretical) level. Applied microbiology refers to the fields where the micro-organisms are applied in certain processes such as brewing or fermentation. The organisms itself are often not studied as such,but applied to sustain certain processes.
The plant microbiome,also known as the phytomicrobiome,plays roles in plant health and productivity and has received significant attention in recent years. The microbiome has been defined as "a characteristic microbial community occupying a reasonably well-defined habitat which has distinct physio-chemical properties. The term thus not only refers to the microorganisms involved but also encompasses their theatre of activity".
Jennifer B. H. Martiny is an American ecologist who is a professor at the University of California,Irvine. Her research considers microbial diversity in marine and terrestrial ecosystems. In 2020 she was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
