MICROBES!!!! Alcanivorax Borkumensis

Stars Microbes Jim Foley

What are microbes?* Single-celled organisms. Majority of the life on Earth in terms of mass. First living organisms to develop.

Role in Ecology* Nearly all microbes are either decomposers or producers. They play major roles in maintaining the nitrogen and carbon cycles and decomposing organisms.

tiny Evolution* Microbes are the oldest organism on earth specifically 3.3 billion years. Without them evolution would never have taken place. The first micro-organisms were photosynthetic Cyano-bacteria.

Deep Sea* Life for microbes in the deep ocean is intense. Several factors in their environment are: immense pressure, complete darkness, and limited chemicals and nutrients. They are often called “extremophiles.” (living in extreme environments (salinity, temperature, pH, pressure))

The ocean is separated into multiple biospheres or layers. Each of these have their own unique characteristics. Only areas that receive significant light (photic zone) have primarily been observed.

Microbes beneath the sea floor are a new area of research by C-DEBI (Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations). How do scientists search for and collect microbes beneath the sea floor?

What We Learn from Ocean Drilling Ocean drilling has: Confirmed the theories of plate tectonics and continental drift. Altered our thinking about the formation of geologic hazards like earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. Discovered a vast and active biosphere of microbes living deep below the seafloor, far deeper than scientists ever predicted life could exist. These are unknown microbes with an estimated biomass greater than all terrestrial life. Provided major insights into the paleoclimate record—the changes to our global climate that have occurred over the past 100 million years and more.

12 billion light year corridor of space 12 billion microbes per liter Hugo1-c.tif (DMK) Hugo8.tif (DMK) Hugo-telescope.tif microbes-1.tif Karl, D. 2011 from COSEE workshop presentation 8/8/11 Where the telescope ends, the microscope begins. Which of the two has the grander view? Victor Hugo Les Miserables (1862)