Synopsis
Cyanobacteria are the oldest living organisms on Earth, going back to the Precambrian era and the planet's early harsh climate. Cyanobacteria inhabit almost all environmental niches. These prokaryotes were critical to the formation of the current biosphere as they evolved photosynthetic reactions emitting oxygen similar to those of plants and green algae. They continue to contribute to the equilibrium of the Earth's atmosphere by generating oxygen and eliminating carbon dioxide. In addition, heterocystous cyanobacteria (specialized nitrogen-fixing cells formed during nitrogen starvation) contribute to atmospheric nitrogen fixation. Therefore, cyanobacteria have tremendous potential for biotechnological applications. Cyanobacteria have evolved specific regulatory mechanisms to cope with environmental stresses and/or variable environments, such as high altitude, extreme cold, hot water and springs, and volcanic ash. However, cyanobacterial adaptation mechanisms to environmental extremes have been poorly addressed, despite their ubiquitous presence in such ecological extremes. Over the last decade, remarkable progress has been made to uncover cyanobacterial adaptation to various abiotic stresses such as high irradiance, nutritional deprivation, UV-B radiation, heat, cold, desiccation, heavy metals, and radiation. These studies must lead the way to a basic understanding of cyanobacterial gene regulatory pathways for morphological, physiological, metabolic, and genetic adaptations to environmental stress. Unfortunately, until now, this information has been scattered in the literature. This book reviews and provides an up-to-date snapshot of where current research stands, as well as discussing the different aspects of cyanobacterial adaptation to extreme environments and their potential for biotechnological exploitation and future research. This book is aimed at researchers and graduate students involved in any aspect of research into cyanobacteria, extreme environments and the exploitation of these organisms in biotechnological applications.
About the Authors
Dr Prashant Kumar Singh is currently working at the Department of Biotechnology, Mizoram University (A Central University), Pachhunga University College Campus, Aizawl, Mizoram. He completed his PhD degree from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. In his 15 years of research, he has published more than 100 articles and book chapters and four books.
Professor Joginder Singh Panwar is at the Department of Botany, Nagaland University, India
Dr Ajay Kumar is currently working as visiting scientist in the Agriculture Research Organization, Volcani Centre, Rishon Leziyon, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development Israel. Dr Kumar completed his doctoral research at Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. He has published more than seventy-five research papers, including research articles, review papers, and book chapters in leading International and National journals or books. He has a wide area of research experience, especially in Plant -Microbiome, Plant-Microbe Interactions, and microbe mediated environmental contamination management.
Dr Reiaz Ul Rehman (Orcid Id : 0000-0002-7685-346X) an Associate Professor, Department of Bioresources, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India. He has more than 20 years of teaching and research experience and over 100 publications including three edited books to his credit. He is actively involved in teaching students in the field of plant biology. He has been working on agronomical, physiological and biochemical aspects of several economically important crops as well as several important medicinal plants. The main thrust of research is on the abiotic stress tolerance properties of the plants including their hyperaccumulating potential of heavy metals.
Sandeep Kumar Singh is currently working as a Senior Research Fellow at Division of Microbiology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India. He has worked in four different research projects in ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi as a Senior Research Fellow. He has been engaged in various research activities on plants-microbes interaction, recycling of waste, remediation of pesticides, Plant growth promoting bacteria, plant disease management, Plant Taxonomy, and published many book chapters and various research papers in journals of international repute.
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