Perspectives on the microorganism of extreme environments and their applications

Highlights

• •

  The applications of extremophiles in various fields like biotechnology, biodegradation, bioremediation, biorefinery and astrobiology along with other industries like pharmaceuticals, food, agricultural, cosmetics, and textile.

• •

  Further research in biodegradation, bioremediation and generation of biofuels using extremophiles is required considering the current climate crisis as it helps in reduction of environmental contamination load.

• •

  The importance of promoting the use of extremophiles in food and agricultural industries and how extremophiles can be the key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of global food security.

• •

  Keeping in mind the current global scenario with regards to the Covid-19 pandemic, our paper also focuses on the importance of by-products of extremophiles like biosurfactants in the vaccine production process.

• •

  For advancement of the astrobiology sector, more PFA sites should be located and the extremophiles inhabiting them should be studied.

Abstract

Extremophiles are organisms that can survive and thrive in conditions termed as “extreme” by human beings. Conventional methods cannot be applied under extreme conditions like temperature and pH fluctuations, high salinity, etc. for a variety of reasons. Extremophiles can function and are adapted to thrive in these environments and are sustainable, cheaper, and efficient, therefore, they serve as better alternatives to the traditional methods. They adapt to these environments with biochemical and physiological changes and produce products like extremolytes, extremozymes, biosurfactants, etc., which are found to be useful in a wide range of industries like sustainable agriculture, food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. These products also play a crucial role in bioremediation, production of biofuels, biorefinery, and astrobiology. This review paper comprehensively lists out the current applications of extremophiles and their products in various industries and explores the prospects of the same. They help us understand the underlying basis of biological mechanisms exploring the boundaries of life and thus help us understand the origin and evolution of life on Earth. This helps us in the research for extra-terrestrial life and space exploration. The structure and biochemical properties of extremophiles along with any possible long-term effects of their applications need to be investigated further.

Graphical abstract