Book Description

Although they comprise one of the three fundamental branches of life, it was only the last decade that Archaea were formally recognized as a group alongside Eukaryotes and Bacteria. Bacteria-like in that they are single celled organisms that lack a nucleus and intracellular organelles, the Arachaea also share a large gene set typical of eukaryotes, for making and repairing DNA, RNA and protein. More surprisingly, they only inhabit environments typical of the extremes of early earth--hot springs, thermal ocean vents, saline lake, or oxygen deficient sediments. A breakpoint on the common evolutionary path, it is evident that the Archaea diverged early in the history of life, establishing their importance in evolutionary sciences. Archaea: Ancient Microbes, Extreme Environments, and the Origin of Life tells this evolving story, furthering our understanding of the microbe commonalities, and providing for evolutionary justification in the use of archaea as mechanistic model systems. Series: Advances in Applied Microbiology, published by Academic Press since 1959, has been, and continues to be, one of the most widely read and authoritative review sources in microbiology. Traditionally, each volume has contained an eclectic mix of review articles on topics of current interest. With, Archaea: Ancient Microbes, Extreme Environments, and the Origin of Life, Advances in Applied Microbiology will enhance this tradition by also including thematic volumes, edited by a Guest Editor, each of which will cover an important area of microbiology in depth. Archaea: Ancient Microbes, Extreme Environments, and the Origin of Life is the first thematic volume for Advances in Applied Microbiology. It covers archaeal evolution, furthering our understanding of the archaeal-eukaryotic commonalities, and providing for evolutionary justification in the use of archaea as model systems in addressing mechanistic questions about eukaryotes. Key Features: * Provides a unique and current summary of common subcellular mechanisms in archaea and eukaryotes * Emphasizes the use of genomics to provide a biological context for understanding archaea * Contrasts evoluttionary studies on the fossil record with those on molecular phylogeny * Includes extensive tables, graphs, images, drawings and other illustrations * Simplifies the interdisciplinary challenge necessary to understand the significance of archaea Audience: Archaea: Ancient Microbes, Extreme Environments, and the Origin of Life book should attract the attention of cell biologists, geneticists, microbiologists, molecular biolgists, bacteriologists, as well as advanced students and researchers in evolutionary studies. About the Author: Paul Blum, PhD, is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Nebraska. He conducts research on the molecular genetics, genomics and ecology of hyperthermophilic archaea with the support of the National Science Foundation. He obtained his doctoral degree in microbiology from the University of California-Davis with postdoctoral training at the University of California-Berkely and Stanford Medical School. He is currently on the editorial board of several journals and has authored over 30 research publications and review articles. He is the past recipient of an award from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences as well as past and current recipient of research project awards from the Department of Energy, Water Environment Research Foundation and the National Science Foundation. During his spare time Dr. Blum can be found conducting surveys of the biota in geothermal pools across the continental United States.