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Microbial Diversity in Asian Deserts: Distribution, Biotechnological Importance, and Environmental Impacts

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Book cover Extremophiles in Eurasian Ecosystems: Ecology, Diversity, and Applications

Part of the book series: Microorganisms for Sustainability ((MICRO,volume 8))

Abstract

Desert is the driest and largest terrestrial biomes constituting about 35% of Earth’s surface. Apart from being the most arid zone, this environment is subjected to different stresses including geochemical and physical stresses. Despite the limitations, diverse and unique groups of microorganisms are able to sustain life in this dryland. It is exemplified by the fact that more than 60 novel bacterial taxa have been isolated over the past decade from deserts located in Asian countries. This chapter reviewed the microbial diversity in the deserts located in Asia with special emphasis on its distribution, adaptation, and biotechnological importance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ürümqi, People’s Republic of China

    Nimaichand Salam & Wen-Jun Li

  2. State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Nimaichand Salam, Zi-Wen Yang, Mipeshwaree Devi Asem & Wen-Jun Li

  3. Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Wael N. Hozzein

  4. Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt

    Wael N. Hozzein

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  1. Nimaichand Salam
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  2. Zi-Wen Yang
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  3. Mipeshwaree Devi Asem
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  4. Wael N. Hozzein
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  5. Wen-Jun Li
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Correspondence to Wen-Jun Li .

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  1. Faculty of Biology, National University of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

    Dilfuza Egamberdieva

  2. Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Nils-Kåre Birkeland

  3. Faculty of Biology, Yerevan State University, Yerevan, Armenia

    Hovik Panosyan

  4. School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China

    Wen-Jun Li

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Salam, N., Yang, ZW., Asem, M.D., Hozzein, W.N., Li, WJ. (2018). Microbial Diversity in Asian Deserts: Distribution, Biotechnological Importance, and Environmental Impacts. In: Egamberdieva, D., Birkeland, NK., Panosyan, H., Li, WJ. (eds) Extremophiles in Eurasian Ecosystems: Ecology, Diversity, and Applications. Microorganisms for Sustainability, vol 8. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0329-6_13

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