Protection of Antarctic microbial communities–‘out of sight, out of mind’ | La protection des communautés microbiennes antarctiques - 'loin des yeux, loin du coeur'
2015
Hughes, Kevin | Cowan, Don | Wilmotte, Annick | CIP - Centre d'Ingénierie des Protéines - ULiège
English. peer reviewed
Show more [+] Less [-]English. RecentadvancesinmolecularbiologytechniqueshaveshownthepresenceofdiversemicrobialcommunitiesandendemicspeciesinAntarctica.Endemicmicrobesmaybeapotentialsourceofnovelbiotechnologicallyimportantcompounds,including,forexample,newantibiotics.Thus,thescientificandbiotechnologicalvalueofAntarcticterrestrialmicrobialhabitatscanbecompromisedbyhumanvisitationtoagreaterextentthanpreviouslyrealized.Theever-increasinghumanfootprintinAntarcticamakesconsiderationofthistopicmorepressing,asthenumberoflocationsknowntobepristinehabitats,whereincreasinglysophisticatedcutting-edgeresearchtechniquesmaybeusedtotheirfullpotential,declines.ExaminationoftheProtectedAreassystemoftheAntarcticTreatyshowsthatmicrobialhabitatsaregenerallypoorlyprotected.NoothercontinentonEarthisdominatedtothesamedegreebymicrobialspecies,andrealopportunitiesexisttodevelopnewwaysofconceptualizingandimplementingconservationofmicrobialbiogeographyonacontinentalscale.Herewehighlightpotentialthreatsbothtotheconservationofterrestrialmicrobialecosystems,andtofuturescientificresearchrequiringtheirstudy.
Show more [+] Less [-]Climate change and the Antarctic Microbial Diversity
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