001. James T. Powell, Aspassia D. Chatziefthimiou, Sandra Anne Banack, Paul Alan Cox, James S. Metcalf. Institute for Ethnomedicine, P. O. Box 3464, Jackson, WY 83001, USA. Desert crust microorganisms their environment and human health. Journal of Arid Environments, 112, 2015, Page: 127 – 133.

      This article reviews current knowledge on cyanobacteria, the dominant primary producers, and other microorganisms in arid desert environments. These microorganisms have developed an array of adaptations to hot, arid climates with intense UV radiation, extreme diurnal temperature fluctuations, and high soil salinity. Crust microorganisms positively contribute to their harsh ecosystems, by preventing evapotranspiration, fixing nitrogen, and blocking solar radiation. In doing so, desert crust prevents soil erosion and facilitates the establishment of plant species. However, like aquatic cyanobacteria, desert cyanobacteria have the potential to produce toxins linked to human and animal illness. Furthermore, the impact of terrestrial cyanobacterial toxins on human health in desert regions is poorly understood. A largely ignored, but potentially important human exposure route for cyanotoxins in desert environments is through the inhalation of desert crusts during dust storms and anthropogenic activity. Future work in this field should include the characterization of toxins produced in desert regions as well as the presence of toxins in clinical and environmental materials.

Keywords: Arid climates; Biological soil crust; Cyanobacteria; Desert environment; Inhalation; Review; Toxins

002. N. Novikova, E. Deshevaya, M. Levinskikh, N. Polikarpov, S. Poddubko, O. Gusev and V. Sychev. RF SRC – Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia. Study of the effects of the outer space environment on dormant forms of microorganisms, fungi and plants in the ‘Expose-R’ experiment. International Journal of Astrobiology, 14, 2015, Page: 137 – 142.

      Investigations of the effects of solar radiation combined with the spaceflight factors on biological objects were performed in the «EXPOSE-R» experiment on the outer surface of ISS. After more than 1 year of outer space exposure, the spores of microorganisms and fungi, as well as two species of plant seeds were analysed for viability and the set of biological properties. The experiment provided evidence that not only bacterial and fungal spores but also dormant forms of plants had the capability to survive a long-term exposure to outer space.

Keywords: air-dried seeds; dormant forms of various microorganisms; outer space; planetary quarantine

003. Philippe Lebaron, Benoit Cournoyer, Karine Lemarchand, Sylvie Nazaret, Pierre Servais. Université de Toulon, Aix-Marseille Université, Institut Méditerranéen d’Océanologie (MIO), UM 110, CNRS 7294 IRD 235, Cedex 9. Environmental and Human Pathogenic Microorganisms. Environmental Microbiology: Fundamentals and Applications, 2015, Page: 619 – 658.

      As the study of interactions between pathogenic microorganisms and their environment is part of microbial ecology, this chapter reviews the different types of human pathogens found in the environment, the different types of fecal indicators used in water quality monitoring, the biotic and abiotic factors affecting the survival and the infectivity of pathogenic microorganisms during their transportation in the environment, and the methods presently available to detect rare microorganisms in environmental samples. This chapter exclusively focuses on human pathogens.

Keywords: Pathogens; Wastewater treatment plant; Dissemination; Antibiotic resistance; Environmental reservoirs; Toxins; Sanitary microbiology; Biological pollution.