Specialized macro- and microorganisms inhabit the springs, each adapted to its habitat, and the cyanobacteria form a prominent part of these biota. Hot springs worldwide are inhabited by dense communities of cyanobacteria adapted to life at high temperatures. The most thermophilic microorganisms known thrive at temperatures above 110º C (Blöchl et al., 1997; Kashefi and Lovley, 2003). However, a temperature around 74º C appears to be the upper limit for photosynthesis (Castenholz, 1969; Brock, 1978). The cyanobacteria most tolerant to high temperatures are unicellular forms (Thermosynechococcus), which thrive in North America (e.g., the hot springs of Yellowstone), Japan and the eastern Mediterranean (Castenholz, 1969) but filamentous cyanobacteria also abound in hot springs worldwide (Copeland, 1936; Castenholz, 1969, 1984, 1996; Brock, 1978).
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Ionescu, D., Oren, A., Hindiyeh, M.Y., Malkawi, H.I. (2007). The Thermophilic Cyanobacteria of the Zerka Ma'in Thermal Springs in Jordan. In: Seckbach, J. (eds) Algae and Cyanobacteria in Extreme Environments. Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, vol 11. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6112-7_22
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