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Joginder Singh · Deepansh Sharma
Gaurav Kumar · Neeta Raj Sharma
Editors
Microbial
Bioprospecting
for Sustainable
Development
Microbial Bioprospecting for Sustainable
Development
Joginder Singh • Deepansh Sharma
Gaurav Kumar • Neeta Raj Sharma
Editors
Microbial Bioprospecting
for Sustainable
Development
Editors
Joginder Singh Deepansh Sharma
Department of Microbiology, School Department of Microbiology, School
of Bioengineering and Biosciences of Bioengineering and Biosciences
Lovely Professional University Lovely Professional University
Phagwara, Punjab, India Phagwara, Punjab, India
Amity Institute of Microbial Technology
Gaurav Kumar
Amity University
Department of Microbiology
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Lovely Professional University
Phagwara, Punjab, India
Neeta Raj Sharma
Department of Biochemistry
Lovely Professional University
Phagwara, Punjab, India
ISBN 978-981-13-0052-3 ISBN 978-981-13-0053-0 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0053-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018952356
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of
the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information
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The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
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The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
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This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721,
Singapore
Contents
Part I Microorganisms for Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental

Applications
1 Small at Size, Big at Impact: Microorganisms for Sustainable
Development �� 3
Nasib Singh, Joginder Singh, and Karan Singh
2 Bioherbicidal Concept: A Novel Strategy to Control Weeds�� 29
Vikas Kumar, Neeraj K. Aggarwal, and Anjali Malik
3 Endophytic Microorganisms as Bio-inoculants for Sustainable
Agriculture�� 41
Pratibha Vyas
4 Endophytes: A Gold Mine of Enzyme Inhibitors�� 61
Vineet Meshram, Kanika Uppal, and Mahiti Gupta
5 Significance and Approaches of Microbial Bioremediation
in Sustainable Development�� 93
Arvind Kumar, Sruchi Devi, and Digvijay Singh
6 Bioremediation: An Eco-sustainable Approach for Restoration
of Contaminated Sites�� 115
Vineet Kumar, S. K. Shahi, and Simranjeet Singh
7 Myxobacteria: Unraveling the Potential of a Unique
Microbiome Niche�� 137
Pooja Thakur, Chirag Chopra, Prince Anand, Daljeet Singh Dhanjal,
and Reena Singh Chopra
Part II Microorganisms for Sustainable Industrial Important Products

8 Microbial Cellulases: Role in Second-Generation
Ethanol Production�� 167
Anita Saini, Neeraj K. Aggarwal, and Anita Yadav
v
vi Contents
9 Applications of Bacterial Polysaccharides with Special

Reference to the Cosmetic Industry �� 189
Acharya Balkrishna, Veena Agarwal, Gaurav Kumar,
and Ashish Kumar Gupta
10 Polyphenol Oxidase, Beyond Enzyme Browning�� 203
E. Selvarajan, R. Veena, and N. Manoj Kumar
11 Xylanases: For Sustainable Bioproduct Production�� 223
E. Selvarajan, S. Swathi, and V. Sindhu
12 Inulinase: An Important Microbial Enzyme in Food Industry �� 237
Anand Mohan, Bableen Flora, and Madhuri Girdhar
13 Plant Vaccines: An Overview�� 249
Gaurav Kumar, Loganathan Karthik,
and Kokati Venkata Bhaskara Rao
14 Microbial Biosurfactants: Future Active Food Ingredients �� 265
Vikrant Sharma and Deepansh Sharma
Part III Microorganisms as Future Tools

15 Microbial Spores: Concepts and Industrial Applications�� 279
Nimisha Tehri, Naresh Kumar, H. V. Raghu, Ravi Shukla,
and Amit Vashishth
16 Insight into Compatible Solutes from Halophiles: Exploring
Significant Applications in Biotechnology �� 291
Kapilesh Jadhav, Bijayendra Kushwah, and Indrani Jadhav
17 Riboswitches as Molecular Tools for Microbial Bioprospecting�� 309
Jeena Gupta and Tasaduq Peerzada
18 Microbial Metagenomics for Industrial and Environmental
Bioprospecting: The Unknown Envoy�� 327
Daljeet Singh Dhanjal and Deepansh Sharma
19 Bacteriophage-Mediated Biosensors for Detection
of Foodborne Pathogens�� 353
Vipin Singh
20 Computational Tools and Databases of Microbes
and Its Bioprospecting for Sustainable Development�� 385
Dipannita Hazra and Atul Kumar Upadhyay
About the Editors
Dr. Joginder Singh is presently working as an Associate Professor at the School of

Bioengineering and Biosciences, Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India.
Previously, he worked as a young scientist at the Microbial Biotechnology and
Biofertilizer Laboratory, Department of Botany, Jai Narain Vyas University,
Jodhpur, for the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. His
research interests include the exploration of efficient strategies for the bioremedia-
tion and phytoremediation of pollutants from water and soil. Presently, his research
activities are directed toward designing and developing cleanup technologies (bio-
filters) for the in situ bioremediation of textile industrial effluents. He is an active
member of various scientific societies and organizations including the Association
of Microbiologists of India, The Indian Science Congress Association, Indian
Society of Salinity Research Scientists, Indian Society for Radiation Biology, and
European Federation of Biotechnology. He has published more than 60 research and
review articles in peer-reviewed journals, 2 edited books, and 10 book chapters.
Dr. Deepansh Sharma is Assistant Professor of Microbiology at Amity Institute of

Microbial Technology, Amity University, Rajasthan. He began his academic career
as an Assistant Professor (microbiology) at the School of Bioengineering and
Biosciences, Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India. He has extensive teach-
ing experience in the fields of fermentation technology, food microbiology, indus-
trial microbiology, and microbial technology. Previously, he was selected for a
short-term scholarship (DAAD, Germany, 2012) to work as an international visiting
researcher at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany. Furthermore, he is an
active member of many scientific societies and organizations, including the
Association of Microbiologists of India, American Society of Microbiology,
European Federation of Biotechnology, and International Scientific Association for
Prebiotics and Probiotics. To date, he has published more than 30 peer-reviewed
research articles, 3 books on microbial biosurfactants, and authored/coauthored
chapters in 5 edited books. Currently, he is involved in various consultancies proj-
ects involving food fermentation and product formulations.
vii
viii About the Editors
Dr. Gaurav Kumar is currently an Assistant Professor at the School of

Bioengineering and Biosciences, Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India. He
received his doctorate degree from VIT University, Tamil Naidu, India. His research
interests include pharmaceutical biotechnology, herbal medicine, marine natural
products, malarial biology, nanotechnology, and biosurfactants. He serves as an edi-
torial member and reviewer for many prestigious journals, including Frontiers in
Biology, Pharmaceutical Biology, Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology,
Anti-Inflammatory & Anti-Allergy Agents in Medicinal Chemistry, and the
International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He is the author
of more than 75 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has authored/coauthored
numerous book chapters.
Dr. Neeta Raj Sharma is currently Professor and Associate Dean of the School of
Bioengineering & Biosciences at Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, India.
She received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Jiwaji University, Gwalior in 1995.
She has more than 20 years of experience in research, industry, teaching, and admin-
istration. Her scientific and technical research interests span various facets of bio-
chemistry, toxicology, nutraceuticals, instrumentation, microbial biotechnology,
computational biology, herbal chemistry, product development, microbial enzymes,
fuel biochemistry, and PCR for industrial and health sector applications. She has
published more than 40 research articles, book chapters, and articles in respected
journals. She is a member of various scientific societies, including the International
Science Congress Association and Indian Society of Agricultural Biochemists.
Part I
Microorganisms for Sustainable Agriculture
and Environmental Applications
Small at Size, Big at Impact:
Microorganisms for Sustainable 1
Development
Nasib Singh, Joginder Singh, and Karan Singh
Abstract
From being the first life originated on Earth ~3.8 billion years ago to the present
time, microorganisms have enormously impacted the human, animal, and plant’s
lives and global biogeochemical cycles in one way or another. These are widely
distributed in almost all habitats and ecosystems on Earth, including the most
hostile and extreme habitats which are otherwise uninhabitable to other organ-
isms. Domain Bacteria and Archaea are composed entirely of prokaryotic micro-
organisms, whereas eukaryotic microbes, viz., fungi, algae, protozoa, slime
molds, and water molds, belong to domain Eukarya. Archaea and bacteria repre-
sent the majority of life-forms on our planet. Recent estimate predicts 1011–1012
microbial species on Earth of which 99.9% microbial species are yet to be cul-
tured in the laboratory. Ocean, soil, rhizosphere, human gut, animal body, etc. are
some of the most densely populated microbial habitats. Microorganisms are
excellent model organisms for the study of metabolism and genetics at cellular
level. Considered as Earth’s greatest chemists, microorganisms have unparal-
leled metabolic capabilities, extraordinary adaptability, and remarkable survival
strategies which undoubtedly make them the most successful living creatures.
Most microbes are beneficial to humans, plants, and animals. These contribute
significantly to ensure the quality of human life and in sustaining life on our
planet. Microbes have established ecologically important symbiotic and
N. Singh (*)
Department of Microbiology, Akal College of Basic Sciences, Eternal University,
Baru Sahib, Himachal Pradesh, India
J. Singh
Department of Microbiology, School of Bioengineering and Biosciences, Lovely Professional
University, Phagwara, Punjab, India
K. Singh
Department of Chemistry, Akal College of Basic Sciences, Eternal University,
Baru Sahib, Himachal Pradesh, India
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 3

J. Singh et al. (eds.), Microbial Bioprospecting for Sustainable Development,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0053-0_1
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4 N. Singh et al.
n onsymbiotic associations with themselves, humans, plants, ruminants, verte-

brates, and invertebrates. Incomparable importance of microorganisms led to the
origin of concepts of microbiome, hologenome, and superorganism.
Microorganisms offer numerous biotechnological compounds for human, animal
and agriculture, and environment sustainability. These are the source of numer-
ous bioproducts like antibiotics, biopharmaceuticals, single-cell proteins, organic
acids, biofertilizers, biopesticides, enzymes, pigments, vitamins, biofuels, bioce-
ment, and many more. Harnessing microbial capabilities is undoubtedly the best
possible sustainable solution to ever-increasing challenges of balanced diet,
clean air, water, energy, medicine, and healthy environment.
Keywords
Microbial diversity · Sustainable development · Microbiome · Rhizosphere ·
Nitrogen fixation · Probiotics · Microbial cell factories · Biopharmaceuticals
1.1 Introduction
Microorganisms (or microbes) are microscopic living organisms invisible to unaided

eyes. Being the earliest, extremely adaptable, unprecedentedly diverse, and most
successful living organisms on the Earth, microbes have extensively impacted the
lives and geochemical processes in one way or another across our biosphere.
Bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae, and protozoa are the major categories of microor-
ganisms. Viruses (acellular in nature) and certain life stages of helminth parasites
are also considered in the scope of microbiology. Despite being the earliest life-
forms originated on the Earth about 3.8–4.2 billion years ago (Bunge et al. 2014;
Weiss et al. 2016), microbial existence was only proved in the seventeenth century
by a Dutch tradesman Antonie van Leeuwenhoek with the help of handmade simple
microscope. He observed bacteria from his own body and termed them “animal-
cules.” Famous microbiologist Dr. Carl Woese had termed the microbial world as
“Biology’s Sleeping Giant” (Woese 1998). Microbes are ubiquitously present in
almost every ecological niche that can exist on the Earth. The complex microbial
communities of mammals and plants are termed microbiome. Microbe’s adaptabil-
ity to extreme environmental conditions and habitats is incomparable in the entire
biological world. The field of microbiology has since grown in leaps and bounds
with great contributions of stalwarts, viz., Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch, Hans
Christian Gram, Julius Petri, Paul Ehrlich, Alexander Fleming, Joshua Lederberg,
Elie Metchnikoff, Sergei Winogradsky, Martinus Beijerinck, Thomas Brock, Carl
Woese, Craig Venter, and many more (www.asm.org). Our current understanding of
complex cellular processes, gene functions, and metabolic machinery is signifi-
cantly contributed and impacted by microorganisms which served as model organ-
isms. Extensive research on E. coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and bacteriophages
offered deeper insights into cellular processes in general and human biology in
particular.
1 Small at Size, Big at Impact: Microorganisms for Sustainable Development 5
1.2 Origin of Life and Microbes: Billion-Years-Old Connection
Prof. Carl Woese proposed three domains of life, i.e., Bacteria, Archaea, and
Eukarya on the basis of ribosomal RNA sequence analyses (Woese and Fox 1977;
Woese et al. 1990). This marked the birth of a new group of microbes called archaea
which are phylogenetically distinct from bacteria and eukaryotes. The available evi-
dences point toward the origin of life about 3.5–3.8 billion years ago amidst extreme
and inhabitable environmental conditions (Bekker et al. 2004; Hug et al. 2016). Our
most likely ancestor was a single-celled microscopic organism, LUCA or last uni-
versal common ancestor (Weiss et al. 2016). Thriving in hydrothermal vents, LUCA
was strictly anaerobic, N2-fixing, CO2-fixing, and H2-dependent autotroph with a
Wood-Ljungdahl pathway (Weiss et al. 2016). Recently, Hug et al. (2016) con-
structed a new tree of life using genome sequences of thousands of species includ-
ing genomes of uncultured microbial species from three domains of life. Remarkably,
this tree has 92 bacterial phyla and 26 archaeal phyla along with eukaryotic fungi,
algae, protozoa, and other protists.
1.3 Diversity of Microbial World
The diversity and ubiquity of microorganisms is enormous and remarkable. Their

exceptional ability to colonize almost all possible ecosystems and extraordinary
metabolic capabilities makes them the most versatile and successful inhabitant on
our planet. These are found in soil (up to 3 km deep), ocean, freshwater bodies
(lake, river, ponds), air, rocks, desert, polar ice, oil fields, underground coal mines,
underwater hydrothermal vents, hot springs, acidic lakes, soda lakes, Dead Sea,
human body, walls, rocks, animal body, compost piles, rumen, termite gut, corals,
paddy fields, under deep pressure, anaerobic environments, sea anemones, tube
worms (hydrothermal vents), insect guts, root nodules (symbiotic bacteria), plant
cells (endophytes), plant roots (mycorrhiza), insect cells (endosymbionts), com-
puter keyboards, subways/tunnels, smartphone, etc. (Brock 1967; Ley et al. 2006;
Sirohi et al. 2012; Bunge et al. 2014; Clarke 2014; Canganella and Wiegel 2014;
Mazard et al. 2016; Martin and Mcminn 2017). Several species of bacteria and fungi
are also reported to survive inside the modules of space stations.
Unfortunately, our current knowledge on microbial diversity is limited, and
major bottleneck is non-culturability of approximately 99.9% of bacterial and
archaeal species (Bunge et al. 2014). Advances in 16S rRNA gene sequencing tech-
nologies have offered new opportunities to gain deep insights into microbial com-
munity structures, nutritional interactions, and novel functions. Several attempts
have been made to accurately estimate and enumerate the microbial species and
their diversity in various ecosystems. Bacterioplankton and phytoplankton (protists)
contribute most to the Earth’s biomass. Bacterioplankton, Prochlorococcus mari-
nus, is the most abundant photosynthetic microbe on Earth (Dufresne et al. 2003).
Similarly, Pelagibacter ubique is regarded as most abundant marine bacterium
(Giovannoni et al. 2005). It has smallest cell volume, smallest genome, and smallest
6 N. Singh et al.
ORFs among free-living cells. Ostreococcus tauri, a green alga, is a dominant pho-
tosynthetic eukaryote in water bodies (Derelle et al. 2006). Several unique aspects
of microorganisms are described in Table 1.1. According to Pomeroy et al. (2007),
microbial biomass is 5–10 times bigger than that of all multicellular marine organ-
isms. Whitman et al. (1998) predicted 1.2 × 1029 prokaryotes in seawater and
2.6 × 1029 in the soil. Kallmeyer et al. (2012) gave higher estimate of 2.9 × 1029
microbial cells in subseafloor sediments. Recent estimate predicts 1011–1012 micro-
bial species on our planet (Locey and Lennon 2016). However, just 11,000 species
belonged to 30 bacterial and 5 archaeal phyla have been isolated and validly classi-
fied so far (Gutleben et al. 2017). There are approx. 8.74 million species of eukary-
otes existing on the Earth of which approx. 611,000 are fungi and approx. 36,400
are protozoa (Mora et al. 2011).
The gastrointestinal tracts of human and other mammals contain dense, complex,
and unique microbial communities (Ley et al. 2006; Human Microbiome Project
Consortium 2012). Human gut is one of the densest and complex ecosystems occu-
pied by bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. This microbial consortium,
also called gut microbiota, is highly dynamic and diverse (Ley et al. 2006; Mirzaei
and Maurice 2017). The human gut harbors 102 cfu/g (proximal end) to 1011 cfu/g
(distal end) bacteria (Donaldson et al. 2016). Similarly, human oral cavity is home
to about 700 bacterial and 90 fungal species. The combined gene content of human
microbiota is staggering 50–100 times the size of human genome. In general, human
gut is dominated by bacterial phyla Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes,
Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia. The small intestine, in particular, is mostly
inhabited by families Lactobacillaceae and Enterobacteriaceae, whereas the colon
is dominated by the families Bacteroidaceae, Prevotellaceae, Lachnospiraceae,
Rikenellaceae, and Ruminococcaceae (Donaldson et al. 2016). Apart from bacteria,
human body also has archaea, fungi, protozoa, and viruses (Human Microbiome
Project Consortium 2012; Mirzaei and Maurice 2017). In sharp contrast to generally
accepted view of 10 microbial cells for each human cell, Sender et al. (2016) gave
revised estimates of 3.8 × 1013 bacteria in the whole body of a 70-kg reference man
having 3.0 × 1013 own body cells. The bacteria to human cell ratio is now estimated
to be 1:1.3 which is much lower compared to earlier estimates. These estimates
found only about 0.2 kg of bacteria in the whole human body, whereas NIH-
Microbiome Project estimated 1–3 kg of bacteria in a normal human being. Further
refinement and actualization in these estimates are expected in the near future.
Many microbes prefer company of a partner for survival and growth. The best
known examples of these relationships are lichen and obligate insect endosymbi-
onts. Lichens represent one of the oldest and most recognizable symbioses in nature.
Recently, the existing theory of two-partner (ascomycete fungus and algae/cyano-
bacteria) lichen association has been challenged with the discovery of third symbi-
otic partner, a basidiomycete yeast Cyphobasidium in macro-lichen Bryoria
fremontii (Spribille et al. 2016). Insect endosymbionts or nutritional symbionts
reside in the cells of plant sap-feeding insects such as aphids, whiteflies, leafhop-
pers, and cicadas. These endosymbionts have extremely minimized genome size
and provide essential amino acids and vitamins to insect hosts (Moran and Bennett
2014). One widely known example of such bacteria is Wolbachia (Lo et al. 2016).
Interestingly, the obligate endosymbiotic bacterium carries minimal genetic con-
tents. “Candidatus Nasuia deltocephalinicola” is characterized by smallest genome
size (112,031 bp) and as few as 140 genes among all cellular organisms (Moran and
Bennett 2014; Bennett et al. 2016; Table 1.1).
Viruses, the acellular microorganisms, infect cells from all three domains of life.
These have significant ecological and genetic functions in the biosphere such as
microbial population control, gene transfer, and genome novelty. Bacterial viruses
(bacteriophages) are key in controlling bacterial numbers in aquatic ecosystems,
acquiring genetic novelties through transduction, and also offer an affordable solu-
tion to tackle antibacterial drug resistance. Other acellular agents, i.e., animal
viruses, human viruses, plant viruses, viroids (naked ssRNA), virusoids (ssRNA),
and prions (proteinaceous infectious particles), are pathogenic to plants and ani-
mals. Their study is equally important from human health perspective, biomass
turnover, and for developing strategies to tackle ever-increasing multidrug resis-
tance in bacterial pathogens. Contrary to century-old accepted view of submicro-
scopic viral size, a giant virus was discovered in 2003 which can be seen under the
light microscope (Aherfi et al. 2016; Colson et al. 2017). It was named Mimivirus
and had huge dimensions as well as genome size. Later, Philippe et al. (2013) iso-
lated giant micrometer-sized viruses, called Pandoravirus, having a genome and
cell sizes bigger than some of bacterial species. In terms of size, Pithovirus siberi-
cum is the largest virus known so far (Legendre et al. 2014). The various giant viral
families/genera described so far include Mimiviridae, Marseilleviridae, pandoravi-
ruses, faustoviruses, mimivirus virophages, Pithovirus sibericum, and Mollivirus
sibericum (Aherfi et al. 2016; Colson et al. 2017). Giant viruses are not only larger
(2–15 times) than traditional viruses, but these also have 50–250 times more genes
(Aherfi et al. 2016). It is now a matter of debate and controversy whether these giant
amoebal viruses represent the possible fourth domain of life or not.
1.4 emarkable Survival and Adaptability

R
of Microorganisms
Some fascinating microorganisms thrive or love to grow in extreme environmental

conditions, which are generally considered inhospitable for life. Where no other
life-forms can survive and grow, microorganisms flourish with ease to drive geo-
chemical cycling on Earth (Pikuta et al. 2007; Poli et al. 2017). These organisms,
called extremophiles, are found in polar ice, hot springs, hydrothermal vents, salt
lakes, acid and alkaline habitats, and toxic wastes (Table 1.2). Acidophiles, alkali-
philes, thermophiles, hyperthermophiles, psychrophiles, halophiles, and barophiles
are some examples of extremophiles. Moreover, some microbes grow at two or more
extreme conditions and hence called polyextremophiles. Interestingly, extremo-
philes not only tolerate the extreme conditions, but they actually require these for
their metabolism and growth cycles. Hyperthermophilic archaea are considered to
be the earliest life-forms thrived on Earth and regarded as the most extreme microbes
8
Table 1.1 Some extraordinarily unique microorganisms across three domains of life
General
Microbial species Domain category/phyla Habitat Unique characteristics References
Armillaria solidipes Eukarya Fungi Malheur National Forest, Approx. 965 ha with an estimated age of Smith et al. (1992)
Oregon (USA) 1900–8650 years (largest living organism
on Earth)
Caulerpa taxifolia Eukarya Green alga Freshwater World’s largest single-celled organism Ranjan et al. (2015)
(size in meters)
Pelagibacter ubique Bacteria Proteobacteria Ocean; in ultraoligotrophic Smallest free-living cell Giovannoni et al.
habitats Length: 0.37–0.89 μm (2005)
Diameter: 0.12–0.20 μm
Volume: ~0.01 μm3
Thiomargarita Bacteria Proteobacteria Namibia (at the bottom of the Largest bacterium on Earth (can be seen Schulz et al. (1999)
namibiensis ocean) “sulfur pearl of with naked eye)
Namibia” Diameter: 180–750 μm
Volume: 3–28 × 106 μm3
Pelagibacter ubique Bacteria Proteobacteria Ocean; in ultraoligotrophic Most abundant heterotrophic bacterium in Giovannoni et al.
habitats ocean (2005)
Prochlorococcus Bacteria Cyanobacterium Oceans, seas Most abundant and smallest Dufresne et al.
marinus photosynthetic microbe on Earth (cell (2003)
size 0.5–0.7 μm)
Ostreococcus tauri Eukarya Green alga Oceans, sea, coastal waters Smallest free-living eukaryote (diameter Derelle et al. (2006)
2–3 μm)
“Candidatus Nasuia Bacteria Proteobacteria Obligate insect endosymbiont Smallest bacterial genome Bennett et al. (2016)
deltocephalinicola” (112,031 bp)
Pelagibacter ubique Bacteria Proteobacteria Ocean; in ultraoligotrophic Smallest genome (1,308,759 bp) and Giovannoni et al.
habitats predicted ORFs (1354) for a free-living (2005)
cell
Ktedonobacter Bacteria Chloroflexi Soil Largest bacterial genome (13,661,586 bp) Chang et al. (2011)
racemifer
N. Singh et al.
General
Microbial species Domain category/phyla Habitat Unique characteristics References
1
Sorangium Bacterium Myxobacterium Soil Second largest bacterial genome Schneiker et al.
cellulosum strain (13,033,779 bp) (2007)
So015 7-2
Encephalitozoon Eukarya Microsporidia Human parasite Smallest eukaryotic genome (2.3 Mbp) Corradi et al. (2010)
intestinalis (Fungi)
Pandoravirus – Giant virus Infect Acanthamoeba Largest viral genome (length 1.0 μm; Philippe et al. (2013)
salinus castellanii diameter 0.5 μm)
Genome: 2,473,870 bp
Pithovirus sibericum – Giant virus Infect A. castellanii Largest virus in terms of size (length Legendre et al.
1.5 μm; diameter 0.5 μm) (2014)
Trichomonas Eukarya Protista Obligate human parasite Largest microbial genome Carlton et al. (2007)
vaginalis (176,441,227 bp)
Highest number of protein-coding genes
for a eukaryotic microbe (~60,000)
Small at Size, Big at Impact: Microorganisms for Sustainable Development
9
10
Table 1.2 Some record-holder extremophilic microorganisms adapted to grow and survive under most extreme and unusual habitats on Earth (Compiled from
Pikuta et al. 2007; Clarke 2014; Lebre et al. 2017; Krüger et al. 2017)
Microorganism Domain Growth parameters Habitats Remarks
Methanopyrus kandleri strain Archaea 122 °C (survive at 130 °C up to Kairei hydrothermal vent field, Record for growth at highest
116 3 h) Central Indian Ridge (depth temperature
2450 m)
Geogemma barossii strain 121 Archaea 121 °C Hydrothermal vent, Juan de Survive at 130 °C for 2 h
Fuca Ridge, Pacific Ocean
Pyrolobus fumarii Archaea 113 °C Hydrothermal vent, Atlantic Extreme thermophile
Ocean
Pyrodictium abyssi Archaea 110 °C Hydrothermal vents Extreme thermophile
Geothermobacterium Bacteria 100 °C Yellowstone National Park, Record for growth at highest
ferrireducens USA temperature (for domain Bacteria)
Cyanidium caldarium Eukarya 55–56 °C Yellowstone National Park, Most thermo-tolerant eukaryote
USA
Nitzschia frigida Eukarya −8 °C Brine in frozen sea water Record for growth at lowest
temperature
Natrialba hulunbeirensis; Archaea Na+ 3.4–4.5 M, pH 9.0–9.5 Soda lakes Halophilic alkalithermophiles
Natronolimnobius aegyptiacus Temp. 50–55 °C
Deinococcus radiodurans Bacteria Resistance to radiations, oxidizing Meat, animals, hot springs World’s toughest bacterium.
agents, and mutagens Can tolerate up to 1500 kilorads
γ-radiations
Picrophilus torridus Archaea pH 0.07 Hot spring in Hokkaido, Japan Most acidophilic living organisms
Picrophilus oshimae
Anaerobranca gottschalkii Bacteria Survive at 65 °C, pH 10.5 Hot inlet of Lake Bogoria, Thermoalkaliphilic bacterium
Kenya
Aspergillus penicillioides Eukarya Water activity 0.585–0.637 Raisins, Australia and Antique Most extreme xerotolerant fungi
Xeromyces bisporus wood, Thailand
Thermococcus piezophilus Archaea Pressuremax: 130 MPa Ocean bottom Extreme piezophilic archaeon
N. Singh et al.
(Weiss et al. 2016). The current high-temperature limit for growth is blistering
122 °C exhibited by hyperthermophilic methanogen Methanopyrus kandleri strain
116 (Takai et al. 2008; Clarke 2014). M. kandleri could remain viable for up to 3 h
at 130 °C. Hyperthermophilic archaeon, Geogemma barossii (also called strain 121)
isolated from a hydrothermal vent, is another extreme thermophilic microbe which
grows at 85–121 °C and can survive at 130 °C for up to 2 h (Kashefi and Lovley
2003). Pyrolobus fumarii is another archaeon capable of growth at 106 °C.
Natranaerobius is a polyextremophile which shows optimal growth above pH 9.5,
69 °C, and 4 M Na+ salt concentration (Canganella and Wiegel 2014). In case of
higher eukaryotes, growth is seldom reported above 60 °C except some nematodes,
algae, and polychaetes (Clarke 2014). Unicellular alga, Cyanidium caldarium, is
reported to complete its life cycle at 55–56 °C. However, other eukaryotes usually
not grow but survive in this temperature range. Some other extremophilic microbes
are discussed in Table 1.2. Recently, the Extreme Microbiome Project (XMP) is
launched to explore the microbial diversity of several extreme habitats, viz., acidic
hypersaline ponds (Australia), Lake Hillier (Australia), “Door to Hell” crater
(Turkmenistan), ocean brine lakes (Gulf of Mexico), deep ocean sediments
(Greenland), permafrost tunnels (Alaska), ancient microbial biofilms (Antarctica),
blue lagoon (Iceland), and toxic hot springs (Ethiopia) (Tighe et al. 2017).
Deinococcus radiodurans (nicknamed Conan the Bacterium by NASA) is a
Gram-positive, extremely radiation-resistant bacterium that can tolerate ionizing
radiations up to 3000 times more than human cells and survive in extreme heat,
desiccation, acidity, and oxidative damages (Cox and Battista 2005; Slade and
Radman 2011). It is rightly regarded as the “world’s toughest bacterium” due to its
remarkable capacity to repair DNA double-strand breaks. Space environment is an
extremely hostile environment characterized by microgravity, intense radiation,
extreme temperatures, and high vacuum (Horneck et al. 2010; www.nasa.gov).
Survival and growth in such conditions is one of the toughest challenges for micro-
organisms. Remarkably, two species of lichens (Rhizocarpon geographicum and
Xanthoria elegans) remained viable for 2 weeks in outer space (Horneck et al.
2010). Dust samples from Russian segment of International Space Station found to
harbor 80 bacterial and 1 fungal species (Mora et al. 2016). More than 90 species of
microorganisms (including bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae, and viruses) have been to
outer space for experimental research studies of NASA and other space agencies
(www.en.wikipedia.org. accessed 12 June 2017). Recently, a bacterium was iso-
lated from high-efficiency particulate arrestance filter system of the International
Space Station and named Solibacillus kalamii (Checinska et al. 2017) in honor of
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the former President of India.
1.5 How Microbes Affect Nature and Life
Microbial communities play an essential role in all major biogeochemical cycles on

our planet and drive the carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrient cycling.
Microbes support and sustain the very existence of life on the Earth. Gilbert and
12 N. Singh et al.
Neufeld (2014) have rightly stated that “microbes sustain life on this planet” and
“life would become incomprehensibly bad” in the absence of microbes. Although
prokaryotic microorganisms have tiny size and minimal cell volume, yet they con-
tribute huge biomass in marine and aquatic ecosystems. Cyanobacteria (formerly
called blue-green algae) are photosynthetic prokaryotes which are responsible for
the present oxygen-rich atmosphere of Earth (Bekker et al. 2004; Mazard et al.
2016). Algae and cyanobacteria are primary producers of oxygen and fix CO2 to
generate food for other organisms. Similarly, phytoplanktons (unicellular protists-
algae, diatoms) and protozoa also play significant role in sustainability of food
chains and food webs. Ocean is the largest ecosystem on Earth harboring phenom-
enal microbial diversity and huge microbial biomass. One liter of ocean water har-
bors more than 10 billion organisms, mainly prokaryotes, protists, viruses, and
zooplanktons (www.embl.de). The first life-forms have their origin in ocean, and it
is this ecosystem which sustains life on our planet. Billions of trillions bacteria
(cyanobacteria, methanogens), viruses, and algae (phytoplanktons) constitute the
base of food chain, absorb CO2, and release O2 into the atmosphere. Further, metha-
nogens play a major role in primary production in deep-sea ecosystems (deep-sea
hydrothermal areas and sediments). Microorganisms remained an essential part of
human life either through their natural activities or by producing recombinant phar-
maceuticals. These have the capabilities to help mankind in tackling the newer chal-
lenges of food, energy, and clean water in a sustainable manner while maintaining
and improving the health of our ecosystems.
1.6 Human Microbiome
Human microbiome represents the symbiotic, commensal, and pathogenic microbial

communities (bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses, and protozoa) present on or inside
human body. The NIH-funded Human Microbiome Project was initiated in 2007 at
a cost of $173 million, and its findings have revealed interesting facts about human
body ecosystem (Human Microbiome Project Consortium 2012). This massive
project characterized the microbial communities in over 200 healthy volunteers
(from 18 different body sites) and has generated about thousand reference genomes
from human microbiota (Fodor et al. 2012). Its findings revealed that human body
harbors more microbial cells than own cells, and the millions of genes expressed by
the microbiome dwarf the 20,500 genes expressed by our genome (Proal et al.
2017). The discovery of the human microbiome marks one of the most important
milestones in the history of science. Vast ecosystems of bacteria, viruses, bacterio-
phages, and fungi persist in every individual (Proal et al. 2017). Every hour, human
body shed approx. 30 million bacteria into its surroundings (Qian et al. 2012). The
most prominent role is played by gut microbiota which assist in the metabolism of
indigestible polysaccharides, produce vitamins and amino acids, provide protection
against colonization of gut by pathogens, enhance the host’s response to pathogen
invasion, and potentiate the immune system (Arnold et al. 2016; Mirzaei and
Maurice 2017). Human microbiota can be utilized for the treatment and management
of infectious and chronic diseases, discovery of novel antibiotic-producing microbes,

and improvement of general health in what could be called the most sustainable
solution for human or public health issues. Recent research showed that microbiome
of an individual can be utilized as unique identification marker for resolving criminal
cases (Hampton-Marcell et al. 2017).
1.7 Microbe-Plant Interactions
Microorganisms living in the soil usually establish beneficial relationships with

several species of leguminous and non-leguminous plants. This microflora, called
rhizosphere microbiota, is key to plant fitness and soil sustainability. Rhizobia are
rod-shaped Gram-negative plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) which
perform biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) by forming root nodules in leguminous
plants such as soybean, faba bean, pea, common bean, cowpea, lentils, chickpea,
etc. BNF is carried out symbiotically by few genera of rhizobia, viz., Rhizobium,
Mesorhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, Allorhizobium, and Azorhizobium (Mus et al.
2016; Remigi et al. 2016). In addition, several free-living PGPR, i.e., Azospirillum,
Azotobacter, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, and Azomonas, also perform BNF
in the soil. Most leguminous plants and some non-legume trees (Parasponia,
Casuarina, Datisca, and Alnus) have nitrogen-fixing nodules formed by rhizobia
and Frankia, respectively (Mus et al. 2016). Apart from nitrogen fixation, several
species of microorganisms also promote plant growth in various ways. These
include Arthrobacter, Agrobacterium, Burkholderia, Chromobacterium,
Caulobacter, Erwinia, Flavobacterium, Micrococcus, Serratia, Micromonospora,
Streptomyces, and Thermobifida (Udvardi and Poole 2013; Ahemad and Kibret
2014; Mus et al. 2016; Remigi et al. 2016). Azolla is heterosporous pteridophyte
fern commonly cultivated in paddy fields in Asia for centuries as a companion crop.
It harbors a N2-fixing cyanobacterium, Nostoc azollae, and hence considered a sus-
tainable natural source of nitrogen (Kollah et al. 2016). Some fungi establish asso-
ciations with roots of higher plants to form mycorrhizae. Such association is
beneficial not only for both the partners but also increases fertility and organic rich-
ness of the soil or aquatic ecosystems. Arbuscular mycorrhizal associations help the
plants to obtain sufficient supplies of phosphorus from the rhizospheric soils
(Igiehon and Babalola 2017). PGPR and fungi promote plant growth and develop-
ment through nitrogen fixation, release of plant growth promoters, mineralization,
phosphate uptake, and increased access to water. BNF, being a nonpolluting and a
cost-effective bioprocess, has potential to decrease our dependence on chemical
fertilizers, reduce environmental pollution, and minimize the cost of agriculture
production. Applications of PGPR as bio-inoculants in the form of biofertilizers,
rhizoremediators, phytostimulators, biopesticides, biofungicides, and bioherbicides
are considered an eco-friendly and sustainable strategy for ecologically sustainable
management of agricultural ecosystems. It will not only increase the productivity of
soil systems but will also afford protection against abiotic stresses (salt, heavy met-
als), weeds, insects, and fungal pathogens. PGPR inoculants are advantageous for
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14 N. Singh et al.
agriculture systems especially in developing countries due to minimal investment

cost involved and least damage to the environmental health. Biological research
efforts must be directed toward introduction of symbiotic BNF into non-legume
crops, cereals (wheat, maize, rice), and horticultural and medicinal plants.
1.8 Beneficial Roles and Uses of Microorganisms
1.8.1 Microbial Cell Factories
E. coli and S. cerevisiae, the best characterized prokaryote and eukaryote,

respectively, have found tremendous biotechnological applications ranging from
biochemical production to food, biopharmaceutical, biofuel, and enzyme production.
Corynebacterium glutamicum, E. coli, and S. cerevisiae are well established as
important industrial workhorses in biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.
Ashbya gossypii is used to produce about 4000 tons riboflavin per annum which
represents about 50% of the global market volume (Becker and Wittmann 2015).
Their “generally regarded as safe” status, high adaptability, non-fastidious growth
requirements, and amenability to genetic manipulations make them the undoubted
heroes of industrial microbiology and pharmaceutical biotechnology. A list of most
commonly used microorganisms as microbial cell factories is provided in Table 1.3.
The versatile microbial cell factories have offered a wide range of industrial prod-
ucts, viz., alcohols (mainly ethanol, propanol, butanol), organic acids (citric acid,
lactic acid, succinic acid, itaconic acid), amino acids, insulin, cytokines, growth fac-
tors, diamines, vitamins, food-grade colors, β-carotene, lycopene, zeaxanthin, anti-
biotics, artemisinin, paclitaxel, anticancer agents, single-cell proteins, biofertilizers,
industrial enzymes, etc. (Ferrer-Miralles and Villaverde 2013; Becker and Wittmann
2015). Microbial factories have been engineered to produce lipids from carbohy-
drate feedstocks for production of biofuels and oleochemicals. Similarly, biosynthe-
sis of plant secondary metabolites in microbes provides an opportunity to significantly
accelerate the drug discovery and development process (Demain and Sanchez 2009;
Cragg and Newman 2013). Cyanobacteria like Anabaena, Aphanocapsa, Calothrix,
Microcystis, Nostoc, Oscillatoria, and Synechococcus are potent source of hydro-
gen, alkanes, and alkenes (Mazard et al. 2016). Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina) is
widely used for industrial production of nutraceuticals and vitamins (Demain and
Sanchez 2009; Cragg and Newman 2013; Mazard et al. 2016).
1.8.2 Fermented Foods and Probiotics
Fermented foods are high-value foods and beverages produced by the controlled
microbial metabolic activities. Fermented foods and beverages remain an integral part
of the human diet since time prehistoric. The microorganisms most commonly
employed in these processes are S. cerevisiae, Acetobacter, lactic acid bacteria
(Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Lactococcus), Propionibacterium
freudenreichii, Bacillus, and several filamentous fungi (Tamang et al. 2016; Marco
et al. 2017). Some examples of fermented foods and beverages are alcoholic bever-
ages, yogurt, cultured milk, cheeses, sauerkraut, pickles, bakery products, kimchi,
sausages, etc. Microbial activities impart enhanced shelf life, organoleptic properties,
nutritional value, and functional properties to the foods. The types, properties,
microbes involved, and health benefits of fermented foods have been extensively
reviewed by van Hylckama et al. (2011), Tamang et al. (2016), and Marco et al. (2017).
Probiotics are nonpathogenic bacteria or yeast that can survive the harsh
environment of gastrointestinal tract to confer health benefits to the host when
consumed in adequate amounts (O’Toole et al. 2017). WHO defines probiotics as
“live microorganisms that, when consumed in adequate amounts, have a positive
influence on the individual’s health.” The global probiotic market is projected to
reach a turnover value of US $46.55 billion by 2020 (http://www.market-
sandmarkets.com). The more commonly exploited strains/species among the
lactobacilli and bifidobacteria have been accepted as having generally regarded as
safe status (O’Toole et al. 2017). A list of various probiotic strains of microbes is
given in Table 1.4. Health benefits of probiotics are well documented for prevention
and treatment of acute gastroenteritis, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, necrotizing
enterocolitis, allergies, infantile colic disease, Helicobacter pylori infection,
cholesterolemia, lactose intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, and certain types of
cancer (Fontana et al. 2013; Doron and Snydman 2015; Chua et al. 2017).
1.8.3 Industrial Products from Microbes
Microbes are endowed with exceptional abilities to produce a plethora of primary

and secondary metabolites under large-scale industrial or commercial production
conditions. Various primary and secondary metabolites such as enzymes, alcohols,
amino acids, organic acids, vitamins, antibiotics, pigments, flavors, biopharmaceu-
ticals (insulin, cytokines), etc. are microbial products having global market value in
billions of US dollars (Ferrer-Miralles and Villaverde 2013). In addition, microbial
biomass, live microbial cells, and microbial biofuels constitute an important com-
mercial market of microbial-synthesized products (Tables 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5).
Extremophilic microorganisms represent untapped bio-resource having immense
potential for biotechnological, chemical, and industrial applications. Thermophile
and hyperthermophile organisms provide us with some of the most thermostable
enzymes having multiple applications. These enzymes, called extremozymes, are
extensively used in industries (food, paper, bakery, textile, leather, detergents, bio-
fuels, pharmaceuticals, etc.) and biotechnology (Adrio and Demain 2014).
Industrially important enzymes such as proteases, lipases, amylases, cellulases,
xylanases, etc. are generally bio-sourced from thermophilic and alkalophilic micro-
organisms as described in Table 1.5. Specifically, the strains and species of genera
Bacillus, Clostridium, Thermus, Thermotoga, Pyrococcus, Thermococcus,
Halobacillus, Halobacterium, Candida, Trichoderma, Halothermothrix, etc. are
potent producers of industrial enzymes (Ferrer-Miralles and Villaverde 2013; Adrio
16 N. Singh et al.
Table 1.3 Microbial cell factories employed for the industrial productions of biopharmaceuticals,
proteins, enzymes, organic acids, and many other bioproducts of industrial importance
Prokaryotic microbial cell factories Eukaryotic microbial cell factories
Bacillus subtilis Aspergillus niger
B. clausii A. oryzae
B. amyloliquefaciens Ashbya gossypii
B. megaterium Candida famata
Brevibacterium lactofermentum Crypthecodinium cohnii
Corynebacterium glutamicum Hansenula polymorpha
Escherichia coli Mortierella alpina
Pseudomonas fluorescens Penicillium chrysogenum
Pseudomonas putida Pichia pastoris
Ralstonia eutropha Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Yarrowia lipolytica Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Trichoderma reesei
Table 1.4 Microbial species generally recognized for their beneficial role as probiotics (Compiled
from Fontana et al. 2013; Doron and Snydman 2015; Chua et al. 2017)
Bacteria Fungi
Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG Kluyveromyces spp.
Lactobacillus acidophilus CL1285 Torulaspora spp.
Lactobacillus casei Shirota Pichia spp.
Lactobacillus paracasei B21060 Candida spp.
Enterococcus faecium
Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis DN-173010
Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum 35624
Streptococcus thermophilus
Pediococcus pentosaceus
Leuconostoc mesenteroides
Bacillus subtilis
Clostridium butyricum
and Demain 2014; Krüger et al. 2017). Some details about the sources of microbial
strains, genome databases, and other biotechnological and bioinformatic aspects are
provided in Table 1.6.
1.8.4 Antibiotics and Biotherapeutics
Microorganisms are potent source of tremendously diverse bioactive metabolites.

Serendipitous discovery of penicillin by Sir Alexander Fleming in 1929 is regarded
as one of the most influential scientific breakthroughs of the last nine decades
(Demain and Sanchez 2009). Penicillium, E. coli, Aspergillus, Streptomyces,
Bacillus, Cephalosporium, Trichoderma, etc. are main producers of native or
1
Table 1.5 List of various industrial products, biopharmaceuticals, and other bioproducts derived from prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms
Microbial products Microbial source Applications References
Antibiotics (penicillins, tetracyclines, Streptomyces spp., Penicillium spp., Bacillus Treatment and control of Demain and Sanchez
cephalosporins, quinolones, lincomycins, spp., Saccharopolyspora sp., Amycolatopsis sp., bacterial, fungal, and protozoal (2009); Sarkar et al.
macrolides, sulfonamides, glycopeptides, Micromonospora sp., Fusidium sp. infections in humans and (2017)
aminoglycosides, carbapenems Pseudomonas animals
Anticancer chemotherapeutics Streptoalloteichus hindustanus, Streptomyces Treatment of cancers Demain and Sanchez
(actinomycin D, bleomycin, doxorubicin, peucetius, Sorangium cellulosum (2009); Cragg and
mithramycin, streptozotocin, epothilones, Newman (2013)
etc.)
Cholesterol-lowering drugs (lovastatin, Monascus ruber, Aspergillus terreus, Nocardia In human health for reducing Lippi and Plebani
simvastatin, mevastatin, pravastatin) autotrophica, Penicillium citrinum cholesterol and treating cancer (2017)
Biopharmaceuticals (recombinant human E. coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Diabetes, immunological Sanchez-Garcia et al.
insulin, other hormones, cytokines, disorders, cancers, growth (2016); Bandyopadhyay
growth factors, interleukins, interferons) disorders; as biosimilars and et al. (2017)
biobetters
Microbial enzymes (amylase, protease, Bacillus licheniformis, B. stearothermophilus, In food, baking, dairy, Canganella and Wiegel
lipase, pullulanase, cellulases, xylanase, B. amyloliquefaciens, Clostridium, Thermotoga, biopharmaceuticals, feed, (2014); Poli et al.
glucoamylase, endoglucanase, Methanopyrus, Pyrococcus, Thermococcus, agriculture, paper, pulp, leather, (2017); Krüger et al.
endoxylanase, β-glucosidase, chitinase, Halobacterium, Halobacillus, Aspergillus, textile, detergents, biofuels, (2017)
pectinase) Penicillium, Streptomyces chemical, cosmetics, and
bioremediation industries
Biofuels (biodiesel, bioethanol, Clostridium acetobutylicum, Chlamydomonas An eco-friendly alternatives to Kung et al. (2012);
isoprenoid, butanol, fatty acids, hydrogen) reinhardtii, E. coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, conventional petroleum-based Show et al. (2017)
Zymomonas mobilis, Synechococcus elongatus, fuels
Chlorella protothecoides
Small at Size, Big at Impact: Microorganisms for Sustainable Development
Microbial biomass protein (MBP) Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis and A. Nutritional supplement for Mazard et al. (2016)
maxima), Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Chlorella, human; feed additive
Dunaliella, Aspergillus, Chaetomium,
Paecilomyces, Penicillium, Trichoderma
(continued)
17
18
Table 1.5 (continued)

Microbial products Microbial source Applications References
Single-cell oils [docosahexaenoic acid Cryptococcus, Cunninghamella, Mortierella, Nutritional and biodiesel Ochsenreither et al.
(DHA), polyunsaturated fatty acids Yarrowia, Schizochytrium, Thraustochytrium, applications (2016)
(PUFAs), arachidonic acid (ARA), Ulkenia
omega-3 fatty acids]
Vitamin B12 Pseudomonas denitrificans, Propionibacterium In medicine and foods Fang et al. (2017)
shermanii, Sinorhizobium meliloti
Microbial pigments/colorants Chlorella protothecoides, Dunaliella salina, In food, nutraceutical, health, Tuli et al. (2015); Show
(carotenoids, lutein, prodigiosin, Haematococcus pluvialis, Murellopsis, feed, and cosmetics industries et al. (2017)
lycopene) Scenedesmus almeriensis, Monascus,
Fusarium, Penicillium, Neurospora, Serratia
marcescens, Blakeslea trispora
N. Singh et al.
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and for a little way round it, than at a greater distance, on account
of the protection which it receives from the stone, as in the
instances at Saleve, just mentioned. The stone itself also becomes
rounded at the bottom; and thus the surface in contact with the
ground is diminished in extent, and the two surfaces rendered
convex towards one another. It must therefore happen, that the
support, continually weakening, will at length give way, and the
stone incline or roll toward the lower side, and may even roll
considerably, if its centre of gravity has been high above its point of
support, and if its surface has had much convexity: Thus the
horizontal may very far exceed the perpendicular motion; and, in the
course of ages, the stone may travel to a great distance. A stone,
however, which travels in this manner, must diminish as it proceeds,
and must have been much greater in the beginning than it is at
present.
355. This kind of motion may be aided by particular circumstances.
When a stone rests on an inclined plane, so as to be in a state not
very remote from equilibrium, if a part be taken away from the
upper side, the equilibrium will be lost, and the stone will thereby be
put in motion. That stones which lie on other stones, may, by
wearing, be brought very near an equilibrium, is proved by what are
called rocking-stones, or in Cornwall Logan stones, which have
sometimes been mistaken for works of art; but are certainly nothing
else than stones, which have been subjected to the universal law of
wasting and decay, in such peculiar circumstances, as nearly to bring
about an equilibrium of that stable kind, which, when slightly
disturbed, re-establishes itself.[178] The Logan stone at the Land's
End, is a mass of granite, weighing more than sixty tons, resting on
a rock of granite, of considerable height, and close on the sea shore.
The two stones touch but in a small spot, their surfaces being
considerably convex towards one another. The uppermost is so
nearly in an equilibrium, that it can be made to vibrate by the
strength of a man, though to overset it entirely would require a vast
force. This arises from the centre of gravity of the stone being
somewhat lower than the centre of curvature of that part of it on
which it has a tendency to roll; the consequence of which is, that
any motion impressed on the stone, forces its centre of gravity to
rise, (though not very considerably,) by which means it returns
whenever the force is removed, and vibrates backward and forward,
till it is reduced to rest. Were it required to remove the stone from
its place, it might be most easily done, by cutting off a part from one
side, or blowing it away by gunpowder; the stone would then lose its
balance, would tumble from its pedestal, and might roll to a
considerable distance. Now, what art is here supposed to perform,
nature herself in time will probably effect. If the waste on one side
of this great mass shall exceed that on the opposite in more than a
certain proportion, and it is not likely that that proportion will be
always maintained, the equilibrium of the Logan stone will be
subverted, never to return. Thus we perceive how motion may be
produced by the combined action of the decomposition and
gravitation of large masses of rock.
[178] I do not presume so far as to say, that all rocking-stones are produced by
natural means: I have not sufficient information to justify that assertion; but the
great size of that at the Land's End, its elevated position, and the approaches
toward something of the same kind which are to be seen in other parts of that
shore, prove that it is no work of art. They who ascribe it to the Druids, do not
consider the rapidity with which the Cornish granite wastes, nor think how
improbable it is, that the conditions necessary to a rocking-stone, whether
produced by nature or art, should have remained the same for sixteen or
seventeen hundred years.
356. Besides the gradual waste to which stones exposed to the
atmosphere are necessarily subject, those of a great size appear to
be liable to splitting, and dividing into large portions, no doubt from
their weight. This may be observed in almost all stones that happen
to be in such circumstances as we are now considering; and from
this cause the subversion of their balance may be more sudden, and
of greater amount, than could be expected from their gradual decay.
Thus, if to the wasting of a stone at the bottom, we add the
accidents that may befal it in the wasting of its sides, we see at least
the physical possibility of detached stones being put in motion,
merely by their own weight. It is indeed remarkable, that some of
the largest of these stones rest on very narrow bases. Those at the
foot of Saleve touch the ground only in a few points: The Boulder
stone of Borrowdale is supported on a narrow ridge like the keel of a
ship, and is prevented from tumbling by a stone or two, that serve
as a kind of shores to prop it up. Very unexpected accidents
sometimes happen to disturb the rest of such fragments of rock as
have once migrated from their own place. Saussure mentions a great
mass of lapis ollaris[179] that lies detached on the side of a declivity
in the valley of Urseren, in the canton of Uri. The people use this
stone as a quarry, and are working it away on the upper side, in
consequence of which it will probably be soon overset, and will roll
to the bottom of the valley.
[179] Voyages aux Alpes, tom. iv. § 1851.
357. In many instances it cannot be doubted, that stones of the kind

here referred to are the remains of masses or veins of whinstone or
granite, now worn away, and that they have travelled but a very
short way, or perhaps not at all, from their original place. Many of
the large blocks of whinstone which we find in this country,
sometimes single, and sometimes scattered in considerable
abundance over a particular spot, are certainly to be referred to this
cause. But the most remarkable examples of this sort are the stones
found at the Cape of Good Hope, on the hill called Paarlberg, which
takes its name from a chain of large round stones, like the pearls of
a necklace, that passes over the summit. Two of these, placed near
the highest point, are called the Pearl and the Diamond, and were
mentioned several years ago in the Philosophical Transactions.[180]
From a more recent account, these stones appear to be a species of
granite, though the hill on which they lie is composed of sandstone
strata.[181] The Pearl is a naked rock, that rises to the height of 400
feet above the summit of the hill; the Diamond is higher, but its base
is less, and it is more inaccessible.
[180] Vol. lxviii. p. 102.
[181] Barrow's Travels into Southern Africa, p. 60.
From the above stones forming a regular chain, as well as from the
immense size of the two largest, it is impossible to suppose that they
have been moved; and it is infinitely more probable, that they are
parts of a granite vein, which runs across the sandstone strata, and
of which some parts have resisted the action of the weather, while
the rest have yielded to it. The whole geological history of this part
of Africa seems highly interesting, since, as far as can be collected
from the accounts of the ingenious traveller just mentioned, it
consists of horizontal beds of sandstone or limestone, resting
immediately on granite, or on primary schistus. Loose blocks of
granite are seen in great abundance at the foot of the Table
Mountain, and along the sea shore.
358. The system which accounts for such phenomena as have been
considered in this and some of the preceding notes, by the operation
of a great deluge, or debacle, as it is called, has been already
mentioned. In Dr Hutton's theory, nothing whatever is ascribed to
such accidental and unknown causes; and, though their existence is
not absolutely denied, their effects, whatever they may have been,
are alleged to be entirely obliterated, so that they can be referred to
no other class but that of mere possibilities. A minute discussion,
however, of the question, Whether there are, on the surface of the
earth, any effects that require the interposition of an extraordinary
cause, would lead into a longer digression than is suited to this
place. I shall briefly state what appear to be the principal objections
to all such explanations of the phenomena of geology.
359. The general structure of valleys among mountains, is highly
unfavourable to the notion that they were produced by any single
great torrent, which swept over the surface of the earth. In some
instances, valleys diverge, as it were from a centre, in all directions.
In others, they originate from a ridge, and proceed with equal depth
and extent on both sides of it, plainly indicating, that the force which
produced them was nothing, or evanescent at the summit of that
ridge, and increased on both sides, as the distance from the ridge
increased. The working of water collected from the rains and the
snows, and seeking its way from a higher to a lower level, is the only
cause we know of, which is subject to this law.
360. Again, if we consider a valley as a space, which perhaps with
many windings and irregularities, has been hollowed out of the solid
rock, it is plain, that no force of water, suddenly applied, could
loosen and remove the great mass of stone which has actually
disappeared. The greatest column of water that could be brought to
act against such a mass, whatever be the velocity we ascribe to it,
could not break asunder and displace beds of rock many leagues in
length, and in continuity with the rock on either side of them. The
slow working of water, on the other hand, or the powers that we see
every day in action, are quite sufficient for this effect, if time only is
allowed them.
361. Some valleys are so particularly constructed, as to carry with
them a still stronger refutation of the existence of a debacle. These
are the longitudinal valleys, which have the openings by which the
water is discharged, not at one extremity, but at the broadside Such
is that on the east side of Mont Blanc, deeply excavated on the
confines of the granite and schistus rock, and extending parallel to
the beds of the latter, from the Col de la Segne to the Col de Ferret;
its opening is nearly in the middle, from which the Dora issues, and
takes its course through a great valley, nearly at right angles to the
chain of the Alps, and to the valley just mentioned. From the
structure of these valleys, Saussure has argued very justly against
Buffon's hypothesis, concerning the formation of valleys by currents
at the bottom of the sea.[182] It affords indeed a complete refutation
of that hypothesis: and it affords one no less complete of the system
which Saussure himself seems on some occasions so much inclined
to support. For if it be said, that this valley was cut out by the
current of a debacle, that current must either have run in the
direction of the valley of Ferret, or in that of the Dora, which issues
from it. If it had the direction of the first, it could not cut out the
second; and if it had the direction of the second, it could not cut out
the first. Besides, the force which excavated this valley must have
been nothing at the two extreme points, viz. at the Col de la Segne
and the Col de Ferret, and must have increased with the distance
from each. It can have been produced, therefore, only by the
running of two streams in opposite directions, on a surface that was
but slightly uneven, these streams at meeting taking a new
direction, nearly at right angles to the former. A clearer proof could
hardly be required than is afforded in this case, that what is now a
deep valley was formerly solid rock, which the running of the waters
has gradually worn away; and that the waters, when they began to
run, were on a level as high, at least, as the tops of those mountains
by which the valley is bounded toward the lower side.
[182] Voyage aux Alpes, tom. ii. § 920.
362. Longitudinal valleys, with the water bursting out transversely
from their sides, like the preceding, are by no means confined to
mountains of the first order. We have a very good example, though
on a small scale, of a valley of this sort, within a few miles of
Edinburgh. The Pentland Hills form a double ridge, separated by a
small longitudinal valley, that runs from N. E. to S. W., the water of
which issues from an opening almost in the middle, and directed
towards the south. This, therefore, is not the work of any great
torrent, which overwhelmed the country; for no one direction, which
it is possible to assign to such a torrent, will afford an explanation,
both of the valley and its outlet.[183]
[183] In Scotland there is one valley, of a kind that I believe is extremely rare in
any part of the world, in accounting for which, the hypothesis of a torrent or
debacle might, if any where, be employed to advantage. This is the valley which
extends across the island, from Inverness to Fort William, or from sea to sea,
being open at both ends, and very little elevated in the middle. It is nearly
straight, and of a very uniform breadth, except that towards each end it widens
considerably. The bottom, reckoning transversely, is flat, without any gradual slope
from the sides towards the middle. From the sides the mountains rise immediately,
and form two continued ridges of great height, like ramparts or embankments on
each side of a large fossé. A great part of the bottom of this singular valley is
occupied by lakes, namely, Loch Ness, Loch Oich, and Loch Lochy. Its length is
about sixty-two miles, and the point of partition from which the waters run
different ways, viz. north-east to the German Ocean, and south-west to the
Atlantic, is between Loch Oich and Loch Lochy; and, by the estimation of the eye,
I should hardly think that it is elevated more than ten or fifteen feet above the
surface of either lake. The country on both sides is rugged and mountainous, and
the streams which descend from thence into the valley, either fall directly into the
lakes, or turn off almost at right angles when they enter the valley. Though the
bottom of this valley, therefore, is every where alluvial, with the exception,
perhaps, of a few rocks which appear at the surface, it is certainly not excavated
by the rivers which now flow in it. The direction of the valley, it is to be observed,
is the same with that of the vertical strata which compose the mountain on either
side.
Here, then, we have a valley, not cut out by the working of any streams which
now appear; and we may therefore make trial of the hypothesis of a debacle. This,
however, will afford us no assistance; because, if we suppose what is now hollow
to have been once occupied by the same kind of rock which is on either side, no
force of torrents can have suddenly loosened and removed from its place a body
of such vast magnitude. A greater column of water, than one having for its base a
transverse section of the valley, could not act against it, and this would have to
overcome the cohesion and inertia of a column of rock of the same section, and of
the length of sixty-two miles. It is not hazarding much to affirm, that no velocity
which could be communicated to water, not even that which it could acquire by
falling from an infinite height, could give to it a force in any degree adequate to
this great effect.
The explanation of this valley, which appears to me the most probable, is the
following. It will be shown hereafter, that there is good reason to suppose, that, in
most parts of our island, the relative level of the sea and land has been in past
ages considerably higher than it is at present. In such circumstances, this valley
may have been under the surface of the sea, the highest part of it being scarcely
100 feet above that level at present. It may have been a kind of sound, therefore,
or strait, which connected the German Sea with the Atlantic; and the strong
currents, which, on account of the different times of high water in these two seas,
must have run alternately up and down this strait, may have produced that
flatness of the bottom, and straightness of the sides, and that widening at the
extremities, which are mentioned above. In this way, too, some difficulties are
removed relative to Loch Ness, which is so deep as hardly to be consistent with
the indefinite length of the period of waste that must be ascribed to the mountains
on each side of it. Its depth is said, where greatest, not to be less than 180
fathoms. According to this hypothesis, it may, at no very distant period, have been
a part of the bottom of the sea.
363. They who maintain the existence of the debacle, will no doubt
allege, that though these valleys were not cut out by means of it, yet
others may. But it must be recollected, that if some of the greatest
and deepest valleys on the face of the earth, such as that just
mentioned, on the east side of Mont Blanc, are thus shown to be the
work of the daily wasting of the surface, what other inequalities can
be great enough to require the interposition of a more powerful
cause? If a dignus vindice nodus does not exist here, in what part of
the natural history of the earth is it likely to be found?
364. The large masses of rock so often met with at a distance from
their original place, are one of the arguments used for the debacle.
It has, however, been shown, that, supposing a form of the earth's
surface considerably different from the present, especially, supposing
the absence of the valleys which the rivers have gradually cut out,
the transportation of such stones is not impossible, even by such
powers as nature employs at present. Now, without the supposition
that the surface was more continuous, and that its present
inequalities did not exist, no force of torrents, whatever their velocity
and magnitude may have been, could have produced this
transportation. No force of water could raise a stone like the pierre
de goutté from the bottom of a valley, to the top of a steep hail.
Indeed, if we suppose a great fragment of rock to be hurried along
on a horizontal or an inclined plane, by the force of water, the
moment it comes to a deep valley, and has to rise up over an ascent
of a certain steepness, it will remain at rest; the water itself will lose
its velocity, and the heavy bodies which it carried with it will proceed
no farther. Thus, therefore, we have the following dilemma. If the
surface is not supposed to have had a certain degree of uniformity in
past times, a debacle is insufficient for the transportation of stones:
If it is supposed to have had that uniformity, a debacle is
unnecessary.
365. Another fact, which has been supposed favourable to the
opinion of the action of great torrents at some former period, is, that
in countries like that round Edinburgh, where whinstone hills rise up
from among secondary strata, a remarkable uniformity is observed
in the direction of their abrupt faces. Thus, in the country just
mentioned, the steep faces generally front the west, whiles in the
opposite direction, the slope is gentle, and the hills decline gradually
into the plain. Hence it is supposed, that a torrent, sweeping from
west to east, has carried off the strata from the west side of these
hills, but, being obstructed by the whinstone rock, has left the strata
on the east side in their natural place.
But, besides that no force which can ever be ascribed to a torrent
could have removed at once bodies of strata 300 or 400 feet, nay
even 800 or 1000 in thickness, which must have been the case if this
were the true explanation of the fact, there is a circumstance which
may perhaps enable us to explain these phenomena without the
assistance of any extraordinary cause. The secondary strata in which
the whinstone hills are found in this part of Scotland, are not
horizontal, but rise or head towards the west, dipping towards the
east. The side, therefore, of the whinstone hills which is precipitous,
is the same with that towards which the strata rise. Now, from the
manner in which these hills are supposed to have been elevated, the
strata are likely to have been most broken and shattered towards
that side, while, on the opposite, they had the support of the
whinstone rock. They would become a prey, therefore, more easily
to the common causes of erosion and waste on the upper side than
on the lower. The streams that flowed from the higher grounds
would wear them on the former most readily; and the action of
these streams would be resisted by the superior hardness of the
whinstone, just as the great torrent of the debacle is supposed to
have been.
It should also be observed, that this fact of the uniform direction of
the abrupt faces of mountains, is often too hastily generalized. In
primitive countries, it is no farther observed than by the steep faces
of the mountains being most frequently turned toward the central
chain. In Scotland, as soon as you leave the flat country, and enter
the Highlands, the scarps of the hills face indiscriminately all the
points of the compass, and are directed as often to the east as to
the west.
366. Where the strata are nearly horizontal, they afford the most
distinct information concerning the direction and progress of the
wasting of the land. The inclined position of the strata, which in all
other cases must enter for so much into our estimate of the causes
which have produced the present inequality of the earth's surface,
disappears there entirely; and the whole of that inequality is to be
ascribed to the operations at the surface, whether they have been
sudden or gradual. A very important fact from a country of this sort,
is related by Barrow, in his Travels into Southern Africa. The
mountains about the Cape of Good Hope, and as far to the north as
that ingenious traveller prosecuted his journey, are chiefly of
horizontal strata of sandstone and limestone, exhibiting the
appearance, on their abrupt sides, of regular layers of masonry, of
towers, fortifications, &c. Now, among all these mountains, he
observed, that the high or steep sides look constantly down the
rivers, while the sloping or inclined sides have just the opposite
direction. When, in travelling northward, he passed the line of
partition, where the waters from running south take their direction
to the north, he found, that the gradual slope, which had hitherto
been turned to the north, was now turned to the south: The abrupt
aspect of the mountains, in like manner, from facing the south, was
directed to the north; so that, in both cases, the hills turned their
backs on the line of greatest elevation.[184]
[184] Barrow's Travels into Southern Africa, p. 245.
It is evident, therefore, that the form of this land has been

determined by the slow working of the streams. The causes which
produced the effects here described, began their action from the line
of greatest elevation, and extended it from thence on both sides, in
opposite directions. This is the most precise character that can mark
the alluvial operations, and distinguish them from the overwhelming
power of a great debacle.
367. Lastly, if there were any where a hill, or any large mass
composed of broken and shapeless stones, thrown together like
rubbish, and neither worked into gravel nor disposed with any
regularity, we must ascribe it to some other cause than the ordinary
detritus and wasting of the land. This, however, has never yet
occurred; and it seems best to wait till the phenomenon is observed,
before we seek for the explanation of it.
368. These arguments appear to me conclusive against the necessity
of supposing the action of sudden and irregular causes on the
surface of the earth. In this, however, I am perhaps deceived:
neither Pallas, nor Saussure, nor Dolomieu, nor any other author
who has espoused the hypothesis of such causes, has explained his
notions with any precision; on the contrary, they have all spoken
with such reserve and mystery, as seemed to betray the weakness,
but may have concealed the strength of their cause. I have therefore
been combating an enemy, that was in some respects unknown; and
I may have supposed him dislodged, only because I could not
penetrate to his strongholds. The question, however, is likely soon to
assume a more determinate form. A zealous friend of Dr Hutton's
theory, has lately[185] declared his approbation of the hypothesis
which has here been represented as so adverse to that theory; and,
from his ability and vigour of research, it is likely to receive every
improvement of which it is susceptible.
[185] Trans. Royal Society Edin. vol. v. p 68.
Note xix. § 117.
Transportation of Materials by the Sea.
369. The existence of the great and extensive operations, by which
the spoils of the land are carried all over the ocean, and spread out
on the bottom of it, may be supposed to require some further
elucidation. We must attend, therefore, to the following
circumstances.
When the detritus of the land is delivered by the rivers into the sea,
the heaviest parts are deposited first, and the lighter are carried to a
greater distance from the shore. The accumulation of matter which
would be made in this manner on the coast, is prevented by the
farther operation of the tides and currents, in consequence of which
the substances deposited continue to be worn away, and are
gradually removed farther from the land. The reality of this operation
is certain; for otherwise we should have on the sea shore a constant
and unlimited accumulation of sand and gravel, which, being
perpetually brought down from the land, would continually increase
on the shore, if nature did not employ some machinery for removing
the advanced part into the sea, in proportion to the supply from
behind.
The constant agitation of the waters, and the declivity of the bottom,
are no doubt the causes of this gradual and widely extended
deposition. A soft mass of alluvial deposit, having its pores filled with
water, and being subject to the vibrations of a superincumbent fluid,
will yield to the pressure of that fluid on the side of the least
resistance, that is, on the side toward the sea, and thus will be
gradually extended more and more over the bottom. This will
happen not only to the finer parts of the detritus, but even to the
grosser, such as sand and gravel. For suppose that a body of gravel
rests on a plane somewhat inclined, at the same time that it is
covered with water to a considerable depth, that water being subject
not only to moderate reciprocations, but also to such violent
agitation as we see occasionally communicated to the waters of the
ocean; the gravel, being rendered lighter by its immersion in the
water, and on that account more moveable, will, when the
undulations are considerable, be alternately heaved up and let down
again. Now, at each time that it is heaved up, however small the
space may be, it must be somewhat accelerated in its descent, and
will hardly settle on the same point where it rested before. Thus it
will gain a little ground at each undulation, and will slowly make its
way towards the depths of the ocean, or to the lowest situation it
can reach. This, as far as we may presume to follow a progress
which is not the subject of immediate observation, is one of the
great means by which loose materials of every kind are transported
to a great distance, and spread out in beds at the bottom of the
ocean.
370. The lighter parts are more easily carried to great distances,
being actually suspended in the water, by which they are very
gradually and slowly deposited. A remarkable proof of this is
furnished from an observation made by Lord Mulgrave, in his voyage
to the North Pole. In the latitude of 65° nearly, and about 250 miles
distant from the nearest land, which was the coast of Norway, he
sounded with a line of 688 fathoms, or 4098 feet; and the lead,
when it struck the ground, sunk in a soft blue clay to the depth of
ten feet.[186] The tenuity and fineness of the mud, which allowed
the lead to sink so deep into it, must have resulted from a deposition
of the lighter kinds of earth, which being suspended in the water,
had been carried to a great distance, and were now without doubt
forming a regular stratum at the bottom of the sea.
[186] Phipps's Voyage, p. 74, 141.
371. The quantity of detritus brought down by the rivers, and
distributed in this manner over the bottom of the sea, is so great,
that several narrow seas have been thereby rendered sensibly
shallower. The Baltic has been computed to decrease in depth at the
rate of forty inches in a hundred years. The Yellow Sea, which is a
large gulf contained between the coast of China and the peninsula of
Corea, receives so much mud from the great rivers that run into it,
that it takes its colour, as well as its name, from that circumstance;
and the European mariners who have lately navigated it, observed,
that the mud was drawn up by the ships, so as to be visible in their
wake to a considerable distance.[187] Computations have been made
of the time that it will require to fill up this gulf, and to withdraw it
entirely from the dominion of the ocean: but the data are not
sufficiently exact to afford any precise result, and are no doubt
particularly defective from this cause, that much of the earth carried
into the gulf by the rivers, must be carried out of it by the currents
and tides, and the finer parts wafted probably to great distances in
the Pacific Ocean.[188] The mere attempt, however, towards such a
computation, shows how evident the progress of filling up is to every
attentive observer; and, though it may not ascertain the measure, it
sufficiently declares the reality of the operations, by which the waste
of the present continents is made subservient to the formation of
new land.
[187] Staunton's Account of the Embassy to China, vol. i. p. 448.
[188] Perouse, in sailing along the coast of China, from Formosa to the strait
between Corea and Japan, though generally fifty or sixty leagues from the land,
had soundings at the depth of forty-five fathoms, and sometimes at that of
twenty-two. Atlas du Voyage de la Perouse, No. 43.
372. Sandbanks, such as abound in the German Ocean, to whatever
they owe their origin, are certainly modified, and their form
determined, by the tides and currents. Without the operation of
these last, banks of loose sand and mud could hardly preserve their
form, and remain intersected by many narrow channels. The
formation of the banks on the coast of Holland, and even of the
Dogger Bank itself, has been ascribed to the meeting of tides, by
which a state of tranquillity is produced in the waters, and of
consequence a more copious deposition of their mud. Even the great
bank of Newfoundland seems to be determined in its extent by the
action of the Gulf stream. In the North Sea, the current which sets
out of the Baltic, has evidently determined the shape of the
sandbanks opposite to the coast of Norway, and produced a circular
sweep in them, of which it is impossible to mistake the cause.
In proof of the action here ascribed to the waters of the sea, in
transporting materials to an unlimited extent, we may add the well
known observation, that the stones brought up by the lead from the
bottom of the sea, are generally round and polished, hardly ever
sharp and angular. This could never happen to stones that were not
subject to perpetual attrition.
373. Currents are no doubt the great agents in diffusing the detritus
of the land over the bottom of the sea. These have been long known
to exist; but it is only since the later improvements in navigation,
that they have been understood to constitute a system of great
permanence, regularity, and extent, connected with the trade winds,
and other circumstances in the natural history of the globe. The Gulf
stream was many years since observed to transport the water, and
the temperature of the tropical regions into the climates of the
north; and we are indebted to the researches of Major Rennell, for
the knowledge of a great system of currents, of which it is only a
part. That geographer, who is so eminent for enriching the details of
his science with the most interesting facts in history or in physics,
has shown, that along the eastern coast of Africa, from about the
mouth of the Red Sea, a current fifty leagues in breadth sets
continually towards the south-west.[189] It doubles the Cape of Good
Hope, runs from thence north-west, preserving on the whole the
direction of the coast, but reaching so far into the ocean, that, about
the parallel of St Helena, its breadth exceeds 1000 miles. From
thence, as it approaches the line, its direction is more nearly east;
and meeting in the parallel of 3° north, with a current which has
come along the western coast of Africa from the north, the two
united stretch across the Atlantic, in a line somewhat south of west,
and in a very wide and rapid stream. This stream meets the
American land at Cape St Roque, where it is joined by another
coming up along the eastern shore of that continent, and directed
towards the north. They proceed northward together till they enter
the Gulf of Florida, from which being as it were reflected, they form
the Gulf stream, passing along the coast of North America, and
stretching across the Atlantic to the British Isles. From thence the
current turns to the south, and, proceeding down the coast of Spain
and Africa, meets the stream ascending from the south, as already
described, and thus continues in perpetual circulation. The velocity
of these currents is not less remarkable than their extent. At the
Cape of Good Hope, the rate is thirty nautical miles in twenty four
hours; in some places forty five; and under the line seventy seven.
When the Gulf stream issues from the Straits of Bahama, it runs at
the rate of four miles an hour, and proceeds to the distance of 1800
miles, before its velocity is reduced to half that quantity. In the
parallel of 38°, near 1000 miles from the above strait, the water of
the stream has been found ten degrees warmer than the air.
[189] Geography of Herodotus, p. 672.
374. The course of the Gulf stream is so fixed and regular, that nuts
and plants from the West Indies are annually thrown ashore on the
Western Islands of Scotland. The mast of a man of war, burnt at
Jamaica, was driven several months afterwards on the Hebrides,[190]
after performing a voyage of more than 4000 miles, under the
direction of a current, which, in the midst of the ocean, maintains its
course as steadily as a river does upon the land.
[190] Pennant's Arctic Zoology, Introd. p. 70.
The great system of currents thus traced through the Atlantic, has
no doubt phenomena corresponding to it in the Indian and Pacific
Oceans, which the industry of future navigators may discover. The
whole appears to be connected with the trade winds, the figure of
our continents, the temperature of the seas themselves, and
perhaps with some inequalities in the structure of the globe. The
disturbance produced by these causes in the equilibrium of the sea,
probably reaches to the very bottom of it, and gives rise to those
counter currents, which have sometimes been discovered at great
depths under the surface.[191]
[191] Histoire Naturelle de Buffon, Supplément, tom. ix. p. 479. 8vo.
The great transportation of materials that must result from the

action of these combined currents is obvious, and serves not a little
to diminish our wonder, at finding the productions of one climate so
frequently included among the fossils of another. Amid all the
revolutions of the globe, the economy of nature has been uniform, in
this respect, as well as in so many others, and her laws are the only
thing that have resisted the general movement. The rivers and the
rocks, the seas and the continents, have been changed in all their
parts; but the laws which direct those changes, and the rules to
which they are subject, have remained invariably the same.
375. Objections have been made to that translation of materials by
the waters of the ocean which is supposed in this theory, particularly
by Mr Kirwan, in his Geological Essays; and, though I might perhaps
content myself with the remark already made, that the Neptunian
system involves suppositions concerning the transportation of solid
bodies by the sea, in the early ages of the world, as wonderful as
those which, according to our theory, are common to all ages, I am
unwilling to remain satisfied with a mere argumentum ad hominem,
where the fallacy of the reasoning is so easily detected.
376. One of Mr Kirwan's objections to the deposition of materials at
the bottom of the sea, is thus stated: "Frisi has remarked, in his
mathematical discourses, that if any considerable mass of matter
were accumulated in the interior of the ocean, the diurnal motion of
the globe would be disturbed, and consequently it would be
perceptible; a phenomenon, however, of which no history or
tradition gives any account."[192]
[192] Geol. Essays, p. 441.
The appeal made here to Frisi is singularly unfortunate, as that

philosopher has demonstrated the very contrary of Mr Kirwan's
position, and has proved, that the disturbance given to the diurnal
motion by the causes here referred to may be real, but cannot be
perceptible. Having investigated a formula expressing the law which
all such disturbances must necessarily observe, he concludes, "Hàc
autem formulâ manifestum fiet, ex iis omnibus variationibus quæ in
terrestri superficie observari solent, montium et collium abrasione,
dilapsu corporum ponderosiorum in inferiores telluris sinus, nullam
oriri posse variationem sensibilem diurni motûs. Nam si statuamus
data aliqua annorum periodo terrestrem superficiem ad duos usque
pedes abradi undique, eam vero materiæ quantitatem ad
profunditatem pedum 1000 dilabi; erit omne quod inde orietur
incrementum velocitatis diurni motûs 30000/(19638051)2 =
1/12855068184."[193]
[193] Frisii Opera, tom. iii. p. 269.
Here, it is evident, that Frisi admits those very changes on the
surface which we are contending for, and shows, that their tendency
is to accelerate the earth's diurnal motion, but, by a quantity so
small, that, in a space of time amounting at least to 200 years, the
increase of the diurnal motion would only be such a part of the
whole as the preceding fraction is of unity.[194]
[194] The time requisite for taking away by waste and erosion two feet from the
surface of all our continents, and depositing it at the bottom of the sea, cannot be
reckoned less than 200 years. The fraction 1/12855068184, reduced to parts of a
day, is 1/148554 of a second; so that it would require 200 years to shorten the
length of the day, by the above fraction of a second; and therefore it would
require 148554 times 200 years, or 29710800 years, to diminish it an entire
second. The accumulated effect, however, of all the diminutions during that
period, would amount to much more: and if we had any perfectly uniform
standard to compare the motion of the earth with, its difference from that
standard would increase as the squares of the time, and the total acceleration
would amount to one second in 77080 years. Whatever relation this bears to the
age of the globe itself, it exceeds more than ten times the age of any historical
record.
Though Frisius concludes, as is stated here, that the acceleration produced in the
diurnal motion of the earth, is far too inconsiderable to become the object of
astronomical observation, he makes a supposition difficult to be reconciled with
this conclusion, namely, that the acceleration has had a sensible effect on the
figure of the earth, or rather of the sea, having increased the centrifugal force,
and thereby accumulated the waters under the equator, in the present, more than
in former ages. Such an accumulation, he thinks agreeable to certain appearances
that have been observed respecting the ancient level of the sea. These
appearances will be afterwards considered: it is sufficient to remark here, that
though the fraction, expressing the increment of the centrifugal force, must be
double that which expresses the acceleration, it must be too small to have any
perceptible effect in elevating the sea, except after an immense interval of time;
and the compensations which arise from other causes, probably must prevent it
from becoming sensible in any length of time whatsoever.
377. The instance just given may serve as one of many, to shew
what confidence is to be placed in that indigested mass of facts and
quotations which Mr Kirwan, without discrimination, and without
discussion, has brought together from all quarters. He has no
intention, I believe, to deceive his readers; but we may judge, from
this specimen, of the precautions he has taken against being
deceived himself.
In some respects, the result of Frisi's investigation must be
considered as imperfect. If there were no relative motion in the parts
of our globe, but that by which things descend from a higher to a
lower level, a continual acceleration of its rotation, though extremely
slow, would take place, as above computed. But as, in the interior of
the earth, there are undoubtedly motions of a tendency opposite to
those on the surface, and directed from the centre towards the
circumference, they must produce a retardation in the diurnal
revolution; and from this must arise an inequality, not uniformly
progressive in the same direction, but periodical, and confined within
certain limits, as the causes are by which it is produced.[195]
[195] Even in the descent of bodies from a higher to a lower level at the surface
of the earth, the whole tendency is not to increase the velocity of the earth's
rotation, and many compensations take place, which, when the matter is
considered only in general, are necessarily overlooked. This will appear evident, if
we reflect, that it is not simply the approach of a body towards the centre of the
earth, or its removal from that centre, which tends to disturb the rotation of the
earth; but its approach to the axis of the earth, or its removal from that axis. The
velocity with which a particle of matter revolves, whether on the surface, or in the
interior of the globe, is proportional to its distance from the axis of rotation; and
therefore, when a body comes nearer to the axis, it loses a part of the motion
which it had before; which part, of consequence, is communicated to the whole
mass of the earth, and therefore tends to increase the velocity with which it
revolves. The contrary happens when a body recedes from the axis; for it then
receives an addition to its velocity, which, of course, is taken away from the
rotatory motion of the earth.
Hence, bodies moving in a horizontal plane, may increase or diminish the
swiftness of the diurnal motion, according as they move towards the poles or
towards the equator; and those which descend from a higher to a lower level,
disturb the earth's rotation, much more in consequence of their horizontal, than of
their perpendicular motion. The Ganges, for instance, though its source is
probably elevated no less than 7000 feet above the level of the sea, tends to
retard the earth's rotation, by bringing its waters, and the mud contained in them,
from the parallel of 31° to that of 22°, and so increasing their distance from the
earth's axis by more than 1/12 th part. Had the Ganges flowed towards the north,
as the Nile does, its effect would have been just the contrary.
In the same manner, a stone descending from the top of a mountain, may
accelerate or retard the earth's rotation, according to the direction in which it
descends. If it descend on the side of the elevated pole, it will then produce
acceleration, because its distance from the axis will be diminished; but if it
descend on the side of the depressed pole, and if the direction in which it is
moved, be over a line less inclined, than a line drawn from the same point to the
depressed pole, it will then produce a retardation, because its distance from the
axis will be increased.
Let us suppose, for example, that the top of Mount Blanc is in latitude 45° 49′,
and that its height is 2450 toises above the level of the sea. The point at which a
line drawn from the top of this mountain, parallel to the earth's axis, will meet the
superficies of the sea, (supposing that superficies continued inland from the
Mediterranean), must be about 2382 toises in horizontal distance, or about 2½
minutes south of the summit, that is, in the parallel of 45° 46½′; and if this
parallel be continued all round the globe, the points of the earth's surface between
it and the equator, are all more distant from the earth's axis than the top of Mount
Blanc is; whereas all the points to the north of it are nearer to that axis. A stone,
therefore, from the top of Mount Blanc, if carried any where to the south of the
above parallel, will retard the earth's diurnal motion; but if carried any where to
the north of the same line, will accelerate that motion.
The same quantity of matter, however, carried an equal distance toward the pole,
and toward the equator, from any point, will lose more velocity in the former case
than it will gain in the latter, as easily follows from the nature of circle. Therefore,
supposing an equal dispersion of the detritus of a mountain in all directions, the
parts that go toward the pole will most disturb the diurnal motion; and hence a
balance on their side, or in favour of acceleration, as already observed.
378. Mr Kirwan's second objection is founded on the
misapprehension of a well-known fact in the natural history of the
earth. "Rivers," says this author, "do not carry into the sea the spoils
which they bring from the land, but employ them in the formation of
deltas of low alluvial land at their mouths, according to what Major
Rennell has proved." The fact of the formation of deltas from the
spoils which the rivers carry from the higher grounds, is perfectly
ascertained; and the detail into which Major Rennell has entered in
the passage referred to by Mr Kirwan, does credit to the acuteness
and accuracy of that excellent geographer. But it is not there
asserted, that rivers employ all the materials which they carry with
them, in the formation of those deltas, and deliver none of them into
the sea. On the contrary, they carry from the delta itself mud and
earth, which they can deposit no where but in the sea; and it is this
circumstance chiefly that limits the increase of those alluvial lands,
and makes them either cease to increase, or makes them increase
very slowly after a certain period, though the supply of earth from
the higher grounds remains nearly the same. To make Mr Kirwan's
argument conclusive, it would be necessary to prove, that all the
mud carried down by the Nile or the Ganges, was deposited on the
low lands before these rivers enter the sea; a thing so obviously
absurd, that nothing but his haste to obtain a conclusion
unfavourable to the Plutonic system, could have prevented him from
perceiving it[196].
[196] The instance mentioned in the Geological Essays, from the travels of the
Abbé Fortis, concerning urns thrown into the Adriatic, upwards of 1400 years ago,
and not yet covered with mud, must be explained from peculiar circumstances, or
local causes, with which we are unacquainted, as it makes against the deposition
of earth near the shore, and in narrow seas; a general fact which, I think, every
body admits.
379. A remark which Major Rennell has made concerning the mouths
of rivers, in his Geography of Herodotus, deserves Mr Kirwan's
attention, though perhaps he may not be able to put on it an
interpretation quite so favourable to his system. The remark is, that
the mouths of great rivers are often formed on principles quite
opposite to one another, so that some of them have a real delta or
triangle of flat land at their mouths, while others have an estuary, or
what may not improperly be called a negative delta. Of the latter
kind are some of the greatest rivers in the world, the Plata, the
Oroonoko and the Maranon, and by far the greatest number of our
European rivers. Nobody can doubt, that the three rivers just named
carry with them as much earth as the Nile, or the Euphrates, or any
other river in the world. All this they have deposited in the sea, and
committed to the currents, which sweep along the shore of the
American continent, and by these they have been spread out over
the unlimited tracts of the ocean.
Indeed, nothing can be more just than Dr Hutton's observation, that
where low land is formed at the mouths of rivers, there the rivers
bring down more than the sea is able to carry away; but that where
such land is not formed, it is because the sea is able to carry off
immediately all the deposit which it receives.
380. Mr Kirwan has denied on another principle the power of the sea
to carry to a distance the materials delivered into it:
"Notwithstanding," says he, "many particles of earth are by rivers
conduced to the sea, yet none are conveyed in any distance, but are
either deposited at their mouths, or rejected by currents or by tides;
and the reason is, because the tide of flood is always more
impetuous and forcible than the tide of ebb, the advancing waves
being pressed forward by the countless number behind them,
whereas the retreating are pressed backward by a far smaller
number, as must be evident to an attentive spectator; and hence it is
that all floating things cast into the sea, are at last thrown on shore,
and not conveyed into the mid regions of the sea, as they should be
if the reciprocal undulations of the tides were equally powerful "[197]
[197] Kirwan's Geol. Essays, p. 439.
381. But if the attentive spectator, instead of trusting to a vague
impression, or listening to some crude theory of undulations, reflects
on one of the most simple facts respecting the ebbing and flowing of
the tides, he will be very little disposed to acquiesce in the above
conclusion. He has only to consider, that the flowing of the tide
requires just six hours, and the ebbing of it likewise six hours; so
that the same body of water flows in upon the shore, and retreats
from it, in the same time. The quantity of matter moved, therefore,
and the velocity with which it is moved, are in both cases the same;
and it remains for Mr Kirwan to show in what the difference of their
force can possibly consist.
The force with which the waves usually break upon our shores, does
not arise from the velocity of the tide being greater in one direction
than in another. In the main ocean, the waves have no progressive
motion, and the columns of water alternately rise and fall, without
any other than a reciprocating motion: a kind of equilibrium takes
place among the undulations, and each wave being equally acted
upon by those on opposite sides, remains fixed in its place. Near the
shore this cannot happen; the water on the land side from its
shallowness being incapable of rising to the height necessary to
balance the great undulations which are without. The water runs,
therefore, as it were, from a higher to a lower level, spreading itself
towards the land side. This produces the breakers on our shores,
and the surf of the tropical seas. A rock or a sandbank coming within
a certain distance of the surface, is sufficient, in any part of the
ocean, to obstruct the natural succession of undulations; and, by
destroying the mutual reaction of the waves, to give them a
progressive instead of a reciprocating motion.
382. It is, however, but from a small distance, that the waves are
impelled against the shore with a progressive motion. The border of
breakers that surrounds any coast is narrow, compared with the
distance to which the detritus from the land is confessedly carried;
the water, while it advances at the surface, flows back at the
bottom; and these contrary motions are so nearly equal, that it is
but a very momentary accumulation of the water that is ever
produced on any shore.
If it were otherwise, and if it were true that the sea throws out every
thing, and carries away nothing, we should have a constant
accumulation of earth and sand along all shores whatsoever, at least
wherever a stream ran into the sea. This, as is abundantly evident,
is quite contrary to the fact.
So, also, the bars formed at the mouths of rivers, after having
attained a certain magnitude, increase no farther, not because they
cease to receive augmentations from the land, but because their
diminution from the sea, increasing with their magnitude, becomes
at length so great, as completely to balance those augmentations.
When properly examined, therefore, the phenomena, which have
been proposed as most inconsistent with the indefinite
transportation of stony bodies, afford very satisfactory proofs of that
operation.
383. It is true, that bodies which float in the water, when carried
along on the tops of the waves towards a shelving beach, having
acquired a certain velocity, are thrown farther in upon the land than
the distance they would have floated to, if they had been simply
sustained by the water. The depth of water, therefore, at the place
where they take the ground, is not likely to be such as to float them
again, and to carry them out towards the sea. They are, therefore,
left behind; and this produces an appearance of a force impelling
floating bodies towards the land, much greater and more general
than really takes place.
These observations may serve to show, how unsound the principles
are from which Mr Kirwan's conclusions are deduced: they are
perhaps more than is necessary for that purpose: it might have been
sufficient to observe, that the increase of land on the sea shore is
limited, though the augmentation from the land is certainly
indefinite, a proof that the diminution from the sea is constant and
equal to the increase.
384. "Mariners," says Mr Kirwan, "were accustomed, for some
centuries back, to discover their situation, by the kind of earth or
sand brought up by their sounding plummets; a method which
would prove fallacious, if the surface of the bottom did not continue
invariably the same."[198]
[198] Geol. Essays, p. 440.
The fact here stated, that mariners, when navigation was more
imperfect than it is now, had very frequent recourse to this method,
and that they still use it occasionally, is very true. But from this, the
only inference that can be fairly deduced is, that the changes at the
bottom of the sea are very slow, and the variation but little; not
merely from one year to another, but even from one century to
another. The rules by which the mariner judged of his position from
the quality of the earth which the lead brought up, and which were
deduced no doubt from observations made at no very great distance
of time, might be sufficient for his purpose, though a slow change
had been all the while going forward. Such observations could at
best have little accuracy, and could not be affected by small
variations. It is the slowness of the change, that makes the
experience of one age applicable, in this, as in innumerable other
instances, to the observations of the next. If a long interval is taken,
we will look in vain for the same uniformity of results. A pilot, who
would at present judge of his position in the German Ocean, by
comparing his soundings with those taken by Pytheas, (supposing
them known) in his navigation of that sea, more than 2000 years
ago, could hardly be expected to determine his latitude and
longitude with great exactness; and I know not if the most zealous
advocate for the immutability of the earth's surface, would be willing
to trust his safety in a ship that was guided by such antiquated
rules.
Note xx. § 118.
Inequalities in the Planetary Motions.
385. The assertion that, in the planetary motions, we discover no
mark, either of the commencement or termination of the present
order, refers to the late discoveries of La Grange and La Place, which
have contributed so much to the perfection of physical astronomy.
From the principle of universal gravitation, these mathematicians
have demonstrated, that all the variations in our system are
periodical; that they are confined within certain limits; and consist of
alternate diminution and increase. The orbits of the planets change
not only their position, but even their magnitude and their form: the
longer axis of each has a slow angular motion; and, though its
length remains fixed, the shorter axis increases and diminishes, so
that the form of the orbit approaches to that of a circle, and recedes
from it by turns. In the same manner, the obliquity of the ecliptic,
and the inclination of the planetary orbits, are subject to change; but
the changes are small, and, being first in one direction, and then in
the opposite, they can never accumulate so as to produce a
permanent or a progressive alteration. Thus, in the celestial motions,
no room is left for the introduction of disorder; no irregularity or
disturbance, arising from the mutual action of the planets, is
permitted to increase beyond certain limits, but each of them, in
time, affords a correction for itself. The general order is constant, in
the midst of the variation of the parts; and, in the language of La
Place, there is a certain mean condition, about which our system
perpetually oscillates performing small vibrations on each side of it,
and never receding from it far.[199] The system is thus endowed with
a stability, which can refill the lapse of unlimited duration; it can only
perish by an external cause, and by the introduction of laws, of
which at present no vestige is to be traced.
[199] Exposition du Systéme du Monde, par La Place, Livre iv. chap. 6. p. 199. 2d
edit.
386. The same calculus to which we are indebted for these sublime
conclusions, informs us of two circumstances, which mark the law
here treated of as an effect of wise design, to the entire exclusion
both of necessity and chance. One of these circumstances consists in
the planetary motions being all in the same direction, or all in
consequentia as it is called by the astronomers. This is essential to
the compensation and stability above mentioned:[200] had one
planet circulated round the sun in a direction from east to west, and
another in a direction from west to east, the disturbances they
would have produced on one another's motion would not necessarily
have been periodical; their irregularities might have continually
increased, and they might have deviated in the course of ages from
their original condition, beyond any limits that can be assigned.
[200] La Place, ibid.
The other circumstance, on which the stability of our system
depends, is the small eccentricity of the planetary orbits, or their
near approach to circles. Were their orbits very eccentric, an opening
would be given to progressive change, that might so far increase, as
to prove the destruction of the whole. But neither the movement of
all the planets in the same direction, nor the small eccentricity of
their orbits, can be ascribed to accident, since that either of these
should happen by chance, in as many instances as there are planets,
both primary and secondary, is almost infinitely improbable. Again,
that any necessity in the nature of things should have either
determined the direction of the planetary motions, or proportioned
the quantity of them to the intensity of the central force, cannot be
admitted, as these are things unavoidably conceived to be quite
independent of one another. It remains, therefore, that we consider
the laws, which make the disturbances in our system correct
themselves, and by that means give firmness and permanence to it,
as a proof of the consummate wisdom with which the whole is
constructed.
387. The geological system of Dr Hutton, resembles, in many
respects, that which appears to preside over the heavenly motions.
In both, we perceive continual vicissitude and change, but confined
within certain limits, and never from a certain, mean condition,
which is such, that, in the lapse of time, the deviations from it on
the one side, must become just equal to the deviations from it on
the other. In both, a provision is made for duration of unlimited
extent, and the lapse of time has no effect to wear out or destroy a
machine, constructed with so much wisdom. Where the movements
are all so perfect, their beginning and end must be alike invisible.
Note xxi. § 122.
Changes in the apparent Level of the Sea.
388. In speaking of the natural epochs marked out by the
phenomena of the mineral kingdom, we have supposed a greater
simplicity, and separation of effects from one another, than probably
takes place in nature. We have, for instance, abstracted, in speaking
of the waste and degradation of the land, from that elevation which
may have been carried on at the same time. This appeared
necessary to be done, in order to simplify as much as possible the
view that was to be given of the whole; but there can be no doubt,
that, while the land has been gradually worn down by the operations
on its surface, it has been raised up by the expansive forces acting
from below. There is even reason to think, that the elevation has not
been uniform, but has been subject to a kind of oscillation,
insomuch, that the continents have both ascended and descended,
or have had their level alternately raised and depressed,
independently of all action at the surface, and this within a period
comparatively of no great extent.
It will be easily understood, that the facts we are going to state,
each taken singly, prove nothing more than a change of the line in
which the surface of the sea intersects the surface of the land,
leaving it uncertain to which of the two the change ought really to
be ascribed. Taken in combination, however, these facts may
determine what each of them separately cannot ascertain. I shall
first, therefore, mention some of the principal observations relative
to the change above mentioned, and shall then compare them, in
order to discover whether it is most probable that this change has
been produced by the motion of the land or of the sea.
389. If we begin with examining the coasts of our own island, we
shall find clear evidence every where, that the sea once reached
higher up upon the land than it does at present. The marks of an
ancient sea beach are to be seen beyond the present limits of the
tide, and beds of sea shells, not mineralized, are found in the loose
earth or soil, sometimes as high as thirty feet above the present
level of the sea. Some of these on the shores of the Frith of Forth
are very well known, and have been often mentioned. Indeed, on
the shores of that frith, many monuments appear, which would seem
to carry the difference between the present and the ancient level of
the sea, to more than forty feet. The ground on which the Botanic
Garden of Edinburgh is situated, after a thin covering of soil is
removed, consists entirely of sea sand, very regularly stratified, with
layers of a black carbonaceous matter, in thin lamellæ, interposed
between them. Shells I believe are but rarely found in it, but it has
every other appearance of a sea beach. The height of this ground
above the present level of the sea is certainly not less than forty
feet.
390. On almost every part of the coast where the rocks do not rise
quite abrupt and precipitous from the sea, similar marks of the
lowering of the sea, or the rising of the land, may be observed. On
the shores opposite to ours, the same appearances are remarked.
The author of the Lettre Critique to M. de Buffon, tells us, that he
had found the bottom of a bason at Dunkirk, which he had reason to
think was dug about 950 years ago, ten feet and a half above the
present low water mark, though it must have been originally under
it. The bottom of this bason is in the native chalk. From this, the
same author concludes, that the sea at Dunkirk lowers its level at
the rate of an inch nearly in seven years. The observation was made
in 1762, (Lettre à M. le Comte de Buffon, &c. p. 55.)[201]
[201] In the county of Suffolk, near Wood Bridge, at the distance of seven or eight
miles from the sea, are the Crag-pits, in which prodigious quantities of sea shells
are discovered, many of them perfect and quite solid, (Pennant's Arctic Zoology,
Introd. p. 6.) Lincolnshire affords various proofs of the same kind; but some other

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Part I Microorganisms for Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental

Part II Microorganisms for Sustainable Industrial Important Products

9 Applications of Bacterial Polysaccharides with Special

Part III Microorganisms as Future Tools

Dr. Joginder Singh is presently working as an Associate Professor at the School of

Dr. Deepansh Sharma is Assistant Professor of Microbiology at Amity Institute of

Dr. Gaurav Kumar is currently an Assistant Professor at the School of

Nasib Singh, Joginder Singh, and Karan Singh

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 3

n­ onsymbiotic associations with themselves, humans, plants, ruminants, verte-

Microorganisms (or microbes) are microscopic living organisms invisible to unaided

1.2 Origin of Life and Microbes: Billion-Years-Old Connection

1.3 Diversity of Microbial World

The diversity and ubiquity of microorganisms is enormous and remarkable. Their

1.4  emarkable Survival and Adaptability

Some fascinating microorganisms thrive or love to grow in extreme environmental

1.5 How Microbes Affect Nature and Life

Microbial communities play an essential role in all major biogeochemical cycles on

1.6 Human Microbiome

Human microbiome represents the symbiotic, commensal, and pathogenic microbial

of infectious and chronic diseases, discovery of novel antibiotic-producing microbes,

1.7 Microbe-Plant Interactions

Microorganisms living in the soil usually establish beneficial relationships with

agriculture systems especially in developing countries due to minimal investment

1.8 Beneficial Roles and Uses of Microorganisms

1.8.1 Microbial Cell Factories

E. coli and S. cerevisiae, the best characterized prokaryote and eukaryote,

1.8.2 Fermented Foods and Probiotics

1.8.3 Industrial Products from Microbes

Microbes are endowed with exceptional abilities to produce a plethora of primary

1.8.4 Antibiotics and Biotherapeutics

Microorganisms are potent source of tremendously diverse bioactive metabolites.

Table 1.5 (continued)

357. In many instances it cannot be doubted, that stones of the kind

It is evident, therefore, that the form of this land has been

The great transportation of materials that must result from the

The appeal made here to Frisi is singularly unfortunate, as that

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