White D C, Phelps T J, Onstott T C
Center for Environmental Biotechnology, University of Tennessee, 10515 Research Drive, Suite 300, Knoxville, TN 37932-2575, USA.
Curr Opin Microbiol. 1998 Jun;1(3):286-90. doi: 10.1016/s1369-5274(98)80031-3.
The development of careful quality assurance criteria assuring freedom from contamination in all aspects of sample recovery has opened the window to studies of a fascinating new microbial biome in the deep subsurface. Organisms have been recovered with unusual metabolic capabilities and a chemosynthetic lifestyle independent of the recent surface photosynthetically derived energy inputs. The properties of the subsurface microbiota are critical when assessing aspects such as the utility of burying radioactive waste, the remediation of mixtures of organics, metals, and nuclides, and the search for life in extreme environments on Earth as well as on Mars and other extraterrestrial sites. In addition this pioneering work provides a foundation for examining life processes in extreme environments, such as the environment beneath the ocean floor.
精心制定的质量保证标准确保了样品采集各方面不受污染，这为研究深层地下一个迷人的新微生物群落打开了窗口。已发现具有非凡代谢能力且具有独立于近期地表光合能量输入的化学合成生活方式的生物体。在评估诸如掩埋放射性废物的效用、有机物、金属和核素混合物的修复以及在地球以及火星和其他外星地点的极端环境中寻找生命等方面时，地下微生物群的特性至关重要。此外，这项开创性工作为研究极端环境中的生命过程奠定了基础，比如海底以下的环境。
