Autoendoliths: a distinct type of rock-hosted microbial life

The continued exploration of Earth's biological potential has revealed a range of unexpected microbial habitats. The discovery of organisms inhabiting rock interiors, known as endoliths, was one such revelation that has altered our perspective of habitability, bioenergetics, and the relationshi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geobiology
Main Authors: Marlow, J., Peckmann, J., Orphan, V.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Wiley 2015
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12131
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Summary:The continued exploration of Earth's biological potential has revealed a range of unexpected microbial habitats. The discovery of organisms inhabiting rock interiors, known as endoliths, was one such revelation that has altered our perspective of habitability, bioenergetics, and the relationship between biology and geology (Walker & Pace, 2007). © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Received 26 December 2014; accepted 21 February 2015. Article first published online: 16 Apr. 2015. This research was supported by a grant from the NASA Astrobiology Institute (Award # NNA13AA92A, to V.J.O.) and is NAI Life Underground Publication 008. J.J.M. was supported by a National Energy Technology Laboratory Methane Hydrate Research Fellowship funded by the National Research Council of the National Academies. We thank the three anonymous referees for their comments, which helped improve the manuscript.