古菌研究及其展望

古菌是目前生物地球化学研究的热点之一,不仅能在高温、强酸/碱性条件、高盐度、缺氧等极端条件下存在,而且能在普通海洋环境中存活.其含量巨大,在全球的生物地球化学作用中正扮演重要角色.该领域研究对阐明生命运动的基本规律,揭示生命起源和物种进化,生物圈与地圈环境的相互作用具有重要意义,并可为外太空生命问题的探讨和推测提供依据.本文评述了近30年来古菌基本研究成果和研究现状,展望有待解决的前沿研究内容及解决思路,旨在建立一个较为清晰的古菌基本概念及研究思路,以利于地质学、生物学界了解这一交叉领域.

The study of archaea: a review and perspectives

Archaea is one of the hot spots in biogeochemistry research nowadays.Archaea could not only survive under extreme conditions such as high temperature,high/low pH values,high salinity and anoxic environments,but also exist in normal marine environments.With its huge abundance,Archaea is playing a highly important role in the biogeochemistry processes on the Earth.The study of Archaea would shed new light on the essential principles for the metabolism of life,and on the illumination of the origin and evolution of life.Besides,it also could benefit the understanding of the interaction between the biosphere and the lithosphere.Furthermore,the study of Archaea could provide a basis for the speculation of outer space life forms.Comments were made on the major achievements in the research of Archaea in the past thirty years,and the major problems on the frontier that need to be solved were discussed.Our purpose is to impress the readers with a clear image of Archaea research,especially for the geologists and biologists who desire for an insight into this fascinating interdisciplinary science.