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Caves Biofilm Metagenomics

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Metagenomics

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Synonyms

Biofilm: microbial mat; Laminated microbial ecosystem; Microbially induced sediment structure; Stromatolite (living, modern, fossilized)

Definition

Cave biofilms are biofilms or microbial mats that flourish in natural or anthropogenic cave settings. A biofilm is a three-dimensional assemblage of microbial communities that are embedded within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substances adhered to a surface. Depending on the geochemical and geological setting of a cave, biofilms comprised of variable microbial community compositions and metabolic processes can profoundly impact the speleogenetic history of a cave and the overall ecology of the cave setting.

Introduction

Caves are natural, solutionally or collapse-enlarged openings that form in rock, including but not limited to limestone, granite, lava, salt, or even ice. Caves are widely distributed geographically and can offer portals into different types of extreme, “dark life” habitats, such as the...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lab Microbial Systems Ecology/Department of Microbiology, Technische Universität München, Emil Ramann Strasse 4, D85354, Freising/Munich, Germany

    Natuschka Lee

  2. Department of Microbiology, Technische Universität München, Emil Ramann Strasse 4, D85354, Freising/Munich, Germany

    Wolfang Liebl

  3. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TX, 37996, USA

    Annette S. Engel

  4. Department of Biology, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, 57069, USA

    Megan Porter

Authors
  1. Natuschka Lee
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  2. Wolfang Liebl
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  3. Annette S. Engel
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  4. Megan Porter
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Natuschka Lee .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Genomic Medicine, J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Sarah K. Highlander

  2. Universidad Miguel Hernandez, Campus San Juan, San Juan, Alicante, Spain

    Francisco Rodriguez-Valera

  3. The Institute for Genomic Biology Department of Animal Sciences & Pathobiology Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA

    Bryan A. White

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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Lee, N., Liebl, W., Engel, A.S., Porter, M. (2015). Caves Biofilm Metagenomics. In: Highlander, S.K., Rodriguez-Valera, F., White, B.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Metagenomics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7475-4_718

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