MicroOrganisms of the Mojave Desert

1
Micro-Organisms of the Mojave Desert

• Sara B. Kline
• March 2001

2
Background Biology Lesson

• Nitrogen Fixation
• Gram-Positive
• Gram-Negative
• Spores

3
Halobacteria

• High alkalinity and salinity
• Halorhodopsin
• Owens Lake

4
Alkaliphiles

• pH values
• Extremozymes

Wheres the Desert??
5
Mycoplasmas

• Gram-Negative Prokaryotes
• Parasitic
• Respiratory Disease in Desert Tortoises

Cough-Cough!!
6

Azotobacter and Streptomycetes

• A-Gram-neg
• Bioremediation of Methane products
• S-gram-pos,
• Antibiotic Uses

7
Protozoa

• Single-celled eukaryotic
• Parasitic
• Cellulase breakdown

8
Cyanobacteria

• AKA- blue-green algae
• Prokaryotic, photosynthetic
• Hepatoxins in blooms
• Dunaliella

9
Fungi

• Penicilluim
• Erosional properties
• Mycorrhizae

10
Lichens

• Symbiotic Relationship
• Alga Photosynthesis
• FungiProtection
• Crustose Lichens
• Tardigrades

11
Desert Varnish

• 30 Manganese and Iron Fixed
• Other Components Si, Al, Mg, K,Ca
• Metallogenium, Pedomicrobium and Fungi
• Travertine is not Varnish
• Magnetite and Aging
• Environmental Risks of Alkalinity

12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
Main Sources

• Extremophiles. Scientific American. April 1997
  p82-88.
• How Fast Does Desert Varnish Grow??
  Geomicrobiology Journal. August 1992, v.10.
• Rock Varnish. Geology. February 2000, v.28.
• In Industry, Extremophiles Begin to make their
  Mark. Science. 2 May 1997, v.276.
• Desert Landforms. Singapore Australian National
  University Press, 1977.
• Abrahams, Athol. Geomorphology of Desert
  Environments. New York Chapman Hall, 1994.
• Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
  Http//search.eb.com/bol/Topic?