A Combination of Extreme Environmental Conditions Favor the Prevalence of Endospore-Forming Firmicutes.

ABSTRACT: Environmental conditions unsuitable for microbial growth are the rule rather than the exception in most habitats. In response to this, microorganisms have developed various strategies to withstand environmental conditions that limit active growth. Endospore-forming Firmicutes (EFF) deploy a myriad of survival strategies in order to resist adverse conditions. Like many bacterial groups, they can form biofilms and detect nutrient scarcity through chemotaxis. Moreover, within this paraphyletic group of Firmicutes, ecophysiological optima are diverse. Nonetheless, a response to adversity that delimits this group is the formation of wet-heat resistant spores. These strategies are energetically demanding and therefore might affect the biological success of EFF. Therefore, we hypothesize that abu

SUBMITTER: Filippidou S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5094177 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature