Biodiversity of Microbial Life: Foundation of Earth's Biosphere.

Preface. Contributors. Perspective: Microbiology in Transition (C. Woese). PART I: EVOLUTION AND DIVERSITY OF MICROORGANISMS IN ECOSYSTEMS. A Microbiological Perspective of Biodiversity (J. Staley). Natural History of Microorganisms Inhabiting Hot Spring Microbial Mat Communities: Clues to the Origin of Microbial Diversity and Implications for Microbiology and Marcobiology (D. Ward, et al.). Microbial Mats and Biofilms: Evolution, Structure, and Function of Fixed Microbial Communities (A. Teske & D. Stahl). PART II: PHYSIOLOGICAL AND METABOLIC DIVERSITY OF MICROORGANISMS. Evolution of Energy Metabolism (J. Leigh). Evolution and Diversity of Photosynthethic Prokaryotes (B. Pierson). Diversity of Microbial Heterotrophic Metabolism (J. Perry). PART III: MICROBIAL DIVERSITY OF MAJOR ECOSYSTEMS. Exploring the Diversity of SoilA Microbial Rain Forest (D. Buckley & T. Schmidt). Marine Prokaryote Diversity (M. Suzuki & E. DeLong). PART IV: BIODIVERSITY AND ROLE OF MICROORGANISMS IN PLANT AND ANIMAL SYMBIOSES. Plant--Microbe Symbioses: An Evolutionary Survey (R. Goodman & J. Weisz). Insights from Insect-Microbe Symbioses (M. Kane & U. Mueller). Getting in Touch with Your Prokaryotic Self: Mammal--Microbe Interactions (A. Salyers & J. Shipman). PART V: MICROBIAL DIVERSITY OF EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS. Microbial Diversity of Marine and Terrestrial Thermal Springs (A.-L. Reysenbach, et al.). And Some Like it Cold: Sea Ice Microbiology (J. Staley, et al.). The Deep Subsurface Biosphere (T. Stevens). PART VI: MICROBIAL DIVERSITY, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE OF BIODIVERSITY. Exploiting Microbial Diversity (A. Kuo & G. Garrity). The Future of Microbial Diversity Research (R. Colwell). Index.