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Microbes: A New Frontier in Tropical Chemical Biology

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Chemical Biology of the Tropics

Part of the book series: Signaling and Communication in Plants ((SIGCOMM,volume 8))

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Abstract

Upon his first encounter with a neotropical rainforest, Alexander von Humboldt provided this description … the treetops, hung about with lianas, and crowned with great bushes of flowers, spread out like a great carpet, the dark green of which seemed to gleam in contrast to the light…. But more beautiful still than all the wonders individually is the impression conveyed by the whole of this vigorous, luxuriant and yet light, cheering and mild nature in its entirety (Kritcher 1999). Indeed, the first Europeans to encounter these forests must have been agape with wonder at the massive buttressed strangler figs, kapoks, and Brazil nut trees adorned with winding, snakelike lianas. While this diversity is easily noted and appreciated, an even greater wealth of organisms dominated by fungi, bacteria, algae, and protozoa remains largely unexplored. These organisms collectively referred to as microbes make up more than 50% of the earth’s biomass and as the oldest life forms on our planet have evolved an incredible array of diversity suitable for survival in every habitat imaginable.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Rhizosphere Biology, Colorado State University, 310 Shepardson, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1173, USA

    Tiffany Weir

  2. USDA-ARS, Soil-Plant-Nutrient Research Unit, 2150 Centre Ave, Bldg D, Suite 100, Fort Collins, CO, 80526, USA

    Daniel Manter

  3. Chemistry Section, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Av. Universitaria 1801, San Miguel, Lima 32, Peru

    Waltraud Kofer

Authors
  1. Tiffany Weir
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  2. Daniel Manter
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  3. Waltraud Kofer
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Correspondence to Tiffany Weir .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Rhizosphere Biology, Colorado State University, Shepardson 217, Fort Collins, 80523-1173, Colorado, USA

    Jorge M. Vivanco

  2. Center for Rhizosphere Biology, Colorado State University, Shepardson 217, Fort Collins, 80523-1173, Colorado, USA

    Tiffany Weir

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Weir, T., Manter, D., Kofer, W. (2011). Microbes: A New Frontier in Tropical Chemical Biology. In: Vivanco, J., Weir, T. (eds) Chemical Biology of the Tropics. Signaling and Communication in Plants, vol 8. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19080-3_5

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