Limits of life in hostile environments: no barriers to biosphere function?

ABSTRACT: Environments that are hostile to life are characterized by reduced microbial activity which results in poor soil- and plant-health, low biomass and biodiversity, and feeble ecosystem development. Whereas the functional biosphere may primarily be constrained by water activity (a(w)) the mechanism(s) by which this occurs have not been fully elucidated. Remarkably we found that, for diverse species of xerophilic fungi at a(w) values of

SUBMITTER: Williams JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2810447 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature