Extremophiles

Dr. Singh is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and, in his sabattical time, a visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He volunteers his time as an online mentor for the American Society of Microbiology and in 2010 was honored as the ASM's Outstanding Online Mentor. Professor Singh serves on the boards of numerous journals and has already edited one book and written numerous peer-reviewed journal articles.

• Contributors xvIntroduction xix1 MOLECULAR EVOLUTION OF EXTREMOPHILES 1Debamitra Chakravorty, Ashwinee Kumar Shreshtha, V. R. Sarath Babu, and Sanjukta Patra1.1 Introduction 11.2 Molecular Evolution of Thermophiles 21.3 Molecular Evolution of Psychrophiles 41.4 Molecular Evolution of Halophiles 61.5 Molecular Evolution of Alkaliphiles 71.6 Molecular Evolution of Acidophiles 81.7 Molecular Evolution of Barophiles 101.8 Engineering Extremophiles 121.9 Case Studies 171.10 Implications of Engineered Extremophiles on Ecology, Environment, and Health 201.11 Conclusions and Recommendations 202 ATTAINING EXTREMOPHILES AND EXTREMOLYTES: METHODOLOGIES AND LIMITATIONS 29Debamitra Chakravorty and Sanjukta Patra2.1 Introduction 292.2 Extremophiles: Types and Diversity 302.3 Extremolytes 542.4 Conclusions 643 STRATEGIES FOR THE ISOLATION AND CULTIVATION OF HALOPHILIC MICROORGANISMS 75Aharon Oren3.1 Introduction 753.2 Thalassohaline and Athalassohaline Hypersaline Environments 763.3 Case Studies 793.4 The Upper Salinity Limits of Different Types of Energy Generation 853.5 Final Comments 884 HALOPHILIC PROPERTIES AND THEIR MANIPULATION AND APPLICATION 95Tsutomu Arakawa, Hiroko Tokunaga, Matsujiro Ishibashi, and Masao Tokunaga4.1 Introduction 954.2 Industrial Applications of Halophilic Organisms and Their Proteins 964.3 Extreme and Moderate Halophiles and Their Proteins 984.4 Generation of Low-Salt Stable Extreme-Halophilic Proteins 994.5 Interconversion of Halophilic and Nonhalophilic Proteins 1054.6 Soluble Expression of Recombinant Proteins 1104.7 Natively Unfolded Proteins 1134.8 Organic Solvent Tolerance 1135 FEATURES AND APPLICATIONS OF HALOPHILIC ARCHAEA 123Ximena C. Abrevaya5.1 Introduction 1235.2 General Features 1245.3 Applications of Halophilic Archaea 1305.4 Concluding Remarks 1436 BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS OF COLD-ADAPTED BACTERIA 159Laura Garcia-Descalzo, Alberto Alcazar, Fernando Baquero, and Cristina Cid6.1 Introduction 1596.2 Molecular Mechanisms of Adaptation to Cold Environments 1626.3 Exopolysaccharides 1636.4 Lipids 1646.5 Proteins 1646.6 Biotechnological Applications of Cold-Adapted Enzymes 1686.7 Biodegradation and Bioremediation in Cold Environments 1696.8 Conclusions 1727 ECOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY OF EXTREMOPHILIC MICROORGANISMS, PARTICULARLY ANAEROBIC HERMOPHILES 175Francesco Canganella7.1 Introduction 1757.2 Thermophiles 1767.3 Acidophiles 1877.4 Alkaliphiles 1917.5 Halophiles 1937.6 Piezophiles 1948 THE ROLE OF EXTREMOPHILIC MICROORGANISMS AND THEIR BIOPRODUCTS IN FOOD PROCESSING AND PRODUCTION 205Jane A. Irwin8.1 Introduction 2058.2 Enzymes from Extremophiles in Food Processing 2068.3 Alkaliphiles, Acidophiles, and Piezophiles 2178.4 Extremophiles in Food Spoilage and Contamination 2188.5 Extremophiles as Pathogens of Food Species 2218.6 Conclusions 2229 EXTREMOPHILES AND THEIR APPLICATION TO BIOFUEL RESEARCH 233M.P. Taylor, R. Bauer, S. Mackay, M. Tuffin, and D.A. Cowan9.1 Introduction 2339.2 Extremophiles and Fuels 2359.3 Exploiting Extremophilic Enzymes in Biomass Conversion to Biofuel 2419.4 Conclusions and Future Prospects 24910 SUSTAINABLE ROLE OF THERMOPHILES IN THE SECOND GENERATION OF ETHANOL PRODUCTION 267Anuj K. Chandel, Ellen C. Giese, Om V. Singh, and Silvio Silverio da Silva10.1 Introduction 26710.2 Thermophilic Cellulases for Deconstruction of the Plant Cell Wall 26910.3 Ethanol Production at Elevated Temperatures 27410.4 Future Perspectives and Challenges 28110.5 Conclusions 28311 ECOFRIENDLY ASPECTS OF THE USE OF EXTREMOPHILIC ENZYMES IN TEXTILE SUBSTRATES 291Bipin J. Agrawal and Sandhya Mishra11.1 Introduction 29111.2 Biopolymeric Fibers 29211.3 Extremophilic Enzymes and Their Use in the Textile Industry 29311.4 Utilization of Extremophilic Enzymes in Textile Wet Processing 29711.5 Finishing with Extremophilic Enzymes 30611.6 Role of Enzymes in Textile After-Care 31111.7 Role of Enzymes in Effluent Treatment of Textiles 31411.8 Conclusions 31512 THE USE OF EXTREMOPHILIC MICROORGANISMS IN THE INDUSTRIAL RECOVERY OF METALS 319Carlos A. Jerez12.1 Introduction 31912.2 Biomining Extremophiles and Their Industrial Applications 32012.3 Molecular Studies in Acidophilic Biomining Microorganisms 32212.4 Microbial Resistance to Acid and Metals 32413 BACTERIAL POLYMERS PRODUCED BY EXTREMOPHILES: BIOSYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION, AND APPLICATIONS OF EXOPOLYSACCHARIDES 335Nicolaus Barbara, Anzelmo Gianluca, and Poli Annarita13.1 Introduction 33513.2 EPS Produced by Extremophilic Bacteria 33613.3 Examples of Proposed EPS Biosynthesis from Extremophiles 34513.4 Physicochemical Investigations for Potential Applications 34914 BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS OF EXOPOLYSACCHARIDES PRODUCED BY MICROORGANISMS ISOLATED FROM EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS 357Ignacio J. Molina, Carmen Ruiz-Ruiz, Emilia Quesada, and Victoria B´ejar14.1 Introduction 35714.2 Chemical Composition and Structure of EPSs 35814.3 Physical Properties of EPSs 35814.4 Biological Functions of EPSs 35914.5 Exopolysaccharides Deriving from Extremophilic Organisms 35914.6 Clinical Applications of EPSs 35914.7 Exopolysaccharides of Halophilic Microorganisms 36114.8 Concluding Remarks 36215 BIOSYNTHESIS OF EXTREMOLYTES: RADIATION RESISTANCE AND BIOTECHNOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS 367Erin Copeland, Nicholas Choy, Prashant Gabani, and Om V. Singh15.1 Introduction 36715.2 Biotechnological Implications of Extremolytes 36915.3 Fermentative Production of Extremolytes 37115.4 Commercialization of Extremolytes and Extremozymes 38015.5 Product Recovery 38215.6 Conclusions 38316 SMART THERAPEUTICS FROM EXTREMOPHILES: UNEXPLORED APPLICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES 389Raj Kumar and Ajeet Singh16.1 Introduction 38916.2 Extremolytes as Protein Protectants 39116.3 Extremolytes as Cell Protectants 39116.4 Novel Therapeutics in the Developmental Stage 39316.5 Homeland Security and Military Medicine 39416.6 Technological Gaps in Therapeutic Product Development Using Extremophiles 39616.7 Conclusions 397Acknowledgment 398References 398Index 403