The fascinating world of the extremophiles

Abstract

Extremophiles are organisms that thrive only in extreme environments, such as hot springs and salty lakes. They have evolved special adaptations to survive there and have been found in all three domains of life: Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya. These adaptations, such as the production of heat-resistant enzymes in thermophiles or the accumulation of organic osmolytes in halophiles, enable them to live and reproduce under extreme conditions. In our solar system, there are celestial bodies such as Mars, Jupiter‘s moon Europa and Saturn‘s moon Enceladus on which indications of possible living conditions have been found. These are intensively investigated in search of traces of life. Space missions with Mars rovers and the planned missions to Jupiter‘s moon Europa play an important role in this.