Archaea: Evolution, Physiology, and Molecular Biology

Dear Colleagues,

The Archaea are a unique and interesting group of microorganisms that form the last discovered of the three domains of life. The study of these fascinating life forms is an exciting area of research with the potential to provide new insights into a wide range of basic and applied sciences. As one of the most ancient lineages of living organisms, the Archaea set a boundary for evolutionary diversity and have the potential to offer key insights into the early evolution of life, including the origin of the eukaryotes.
Archaea have furnished us with novel paradigms for understanding fundamentally conserved processes across all domains of life. In addition, they have provided numerous examples of novel biological mechanisms that give us a much broader view of the forms that life can take and the way in which microorganisms can interact with other species.
Many archaea are extremophiles flourishing in environments that are hostile to other living organisms and their biomolecules provide numerous opportunities for biotechnological development. However, representatives of the Archaea are not restricted to extreme environments; new studies are showing that they are also widespread in a broad range of ordinary habitats, including soils, oceans, marshlands, and the human colon and navel. Archaea are particularly numerous in the oceans and the archaea in plankton may be one of the most abundant groups of organisms on the planet. Consequently, some of these microorganisms might be essential components of the biogeochemical cycles. Furthermore, since methanogens are the primary source of atmospheric methane and are responsible for most of the world's methane emissions, these archaea might contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Finally, due to their ability to thrive in extreme environments on Earth, Archaea are quite relevant in the astrobiological context for studying the possible presence of life forms that resemble the Archaea in extraterrestrial environments.
For these reasons, studies on archaeal biology are growing quite fast and represent a promising field of research. In this Special Issue, some of the recent advances and discoveries involving the underlying biology of this fascinating domain of life are presented.

Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Klenk
Prof. Dr. Michael W. W. Adams
Prof. Dr. Roger A. Garrett
Guest Editors

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