Microbial Interactions & Microbial Ecology

Various aquatic ecosystems such as World Oceans, lakes, rivers, springs, ponds, and ground water provide most of the living space on Earth. A multitude of environmental niches are present in the various – some hot (even extreme hot with temperatures over 100°C), some cold, at high pressures in the deep ocean. Despite the undisputed and vital roles of microorganisms in the global ecosystems –driving biogeochemical cycles and basic part of food-webs that affect climate and the cycling of elements and nutrients to other organisms – the most of aquatic environments remain under-explored both and therefore represent to huge pool of unexplored biodiversity. 

 

We know that microbes are the Earth’s processing factories of biological, geological, and chemical (biogeochemical) interactions. Most marine microbes exist in highly organized and interactive communities.

The oceans teem with microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and protists, many of these microbes fundamentally influence the ocean's ability to sustain life on Earth. Some microbes living and transported in ocean water, however, threaten human health.