The limits for life under multiple extremes

Jesse Harrison; Charles Cockell

doi:10.1016/j.tim.2013.01.006

The limits for life under multiple extremes

Jesse Harrison, Charles Cockell

School of Physics and Astronomy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Life on Earth is limited by physical and chemical extremes that define the ‘habitable space’ within which it operates. Aside from its requirement for liquid water, no definite limits have been established for life under any extreme. Here, we employ growth data published for 67 prokaryotic strains to explore the limitations for microbial life under combined extremes of temperature, pH, salt (NaCl) concentrations, and pressure. Our review reveals a fundamental lack of information on the tolerance of microorganisms to multiple extremes that impedes several areas of science, ranging from environmental and industrial microbiology to the search for extraterrestrial life.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	204-212
Number of pages	9
Journal	Trends in Microbiology
Volume	21
Issue number	4
Early online date	27 Feb 2013
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2013.01.006
Publication status	Published - Apr 2013

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

Extreme conditions
Polyextremophiles
Habitability

Access to Document

10.1016/j.tim.2013.01.006

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966842X13000206

Astronomy and Astrophysics at Edinburgh
Heavens, A. (Principal Investigator), Best, P. (Co-investigator), Cockell, C. (Co-investigator), Dunlop, J. (Co-investigator), Ferguson, A. (Co-investigator), Lawrence, A. (Co-investigator), McLure, R. (Co-investigator), Peacock, J. (Co-investigator), Rice, K. (Co-investigator) & Taylor, A. (Co-investigator)
STFC
1/04/12 → 31/03/16
Project: Research

Cite this

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abstract = "Life on Earth is limited by physical and chemical extremes that define the {\textquoteleft}habitable space{\textquoteright} within which it operates. Aside from its requirement for liquid water, no definite limits have been established for life under any extreme. Here, we employ growth data published for 67 prokaryotic strains to explore the limitations for microbial life under combined extremes of temperature, pH, salt (NaCl) concentrations, and pressure. Our review reveals a fundamental lack of information on the tolerance of microorganisms to multiple extremes that impedes several areas of science, ranging from environmental and industrial microbiology to the search for extraterrestrial life.",

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The limits for life under multiple extremes

Abstract

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

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Projects

Astronomy and Astrophysics at Edinburgh

Cite this