Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología Ambiental y Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma de Campeche, Av. Agustín Melgar s/n, Col. Buenavista, 24039 Campeche, Mexico.
Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2010 Jun;21(3):346-52. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2010.02.007. Epub 2010 Mar 2.
Microbial communities are ubiquitous in marine intertidal environments. These communities, which grow preferentially as biofilms on natural and artificial surfaces, carry out key processes contributing to the functioning of coastal environments and providing valuable services to human society, including carbon cycling, primary productivity, trophic linkage, and transfer and removal of pollutants. In addition, their surface-associated life style greatly influences the integrity and performance of marine infrastructure and archaeological heritage materials. The fluctuating conditions of the intertidal zone make it an extreme environment to which intertidal biofilm organisms must adapt at varying levels. This requirement has probably favored the development and spread of specific microorganisms with particular physiological and metabolic processes. These organisms may have potential biotechnological utility, in that they may provide novel secondary metabolites, biopolymers, lipids, and enzymes and even processes for the production of energy in a sustainable manner.
微生物群落广泛存在于海洋潮间带环境中。这些群落优先在自然和人工表面上形成生物膜生长，它们进行的关键过程有助于沿海环境的功能，并为人类社会提供有价值的服务，包括碳循环、初级生产力、营养联系以及污染物的转移和去除。此外，它们的表面相关生活方式极大地影响了海洋基础设施和考古遗产材料的完整性和性能。潮间带的波动条件使其成为一个极端环境，潮间带生物膜生物必须在不同层面上适应。这种需求可能有利于具有特殊生理和代谢过程的特定微生物的发展和传播。这些生物体可能具有潜在的生物技术用途，因为它们可能提供新型的次生代谢物、生物聚合物、脂质和酶，甚至以可持续的方式生产能源的过程。
