Microbial mat research: The recent past and new perspectives
Microbial mat research: The recent past and new perspectives
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微生物垫研究：最近的过去和新的观点
DOI：
10.1007/978-3-642-78991-5_1
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发表时间：
1994
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
R. Castenholz
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
R. Castenholz
不同兴趣的科学家，甚至外行，都开始理解“微生物垫”的含义。但即使对于专家来说，这种知识无论是形象上还是字面上仍然是肤浅的。到目前为止，我们对微生物垫的大部分了解仍然局限于表面上层或通常主要由光合原核生物组成的层。正是这些物质造成了大气和水中的二氧化碳的积聚以及将其转化为其他社区所依赖的富含能量的化合物。也正是这些浅层定义了大多数前寒武纪微生物垫、石化垫或叠层石的残余物，其中也含有通常被认为是蓝藻形态类型的微化石。即使是活垫子的层板或下部区域在很大程度上仍然是“黑匣子”，人们对实际的微生物组成、外聚合物基质以及物种相互作用和代谢活动知之甚少。尽管微生物垫群落可以被视为主要以碳和化学能分子流为特征的生态系统（因为食草无脊椎动物和甚至更小的噬菌体通常很少或不存在），但现在已知大多数垫群落具有相当大的分类学和生化复杂性，并且存在巨大的群落多样性。
Scientists of diverse interests, and even laymen, are beginning to understand what is meant by a “microbial mat”. But this knowledge is still superficial even for the specialist, both figuratively and literally. Most of what we know of microbial mats up to this point is still relegated to the superficial upper layer or layers which are usually composed mainly of photosynthetic prokaryotes. It is these that are responsible for the accretion and for the conversion of atmospheric and aqueous CO2into reduced energy-rich compounds on which the rest of the community is dependent. It is also these superficial layers that define most of the Precambrian remnants of microbial mats, the lithified mats or stromatolites which also contain the microfossils that are often recognizable as morphotypes of cyanobacteria. The laminae or underzones of even living mats are still “black boxes” for the most part, with little known of the actual microbial makeup, the matrix of exopolymers, and of the species interactions and metabolic activities. Although the microbial mat community may be regarded as an ecosystem characterized by primarily a molecular flow of carbon and chemical energy (since grazing invertebrates and even smaller phagotrophs are generally rare or absent), most mat communities are now known to be of considerable taxonomic and biochemical complexity, and a great diversity of communities exists.