Microbial Diversity of Aquatic Ecosystem and its Industrial Potential

Microbial diversity is an important constituent of an overall global biological diversity present in this planet. Microbial diversity that we observe today is the consequence of nearly 4 billion years of evolutionary change. Apart from several niches present in earth, the freshwater lakes are important habitats for diverse microbial communities. Freshwater and marine environments differ in many ways including salinity, average temperature, depth, and nutrient content, but both provide many excellent habitats for microorganisms. Reports suggested that freshwater environments provide diverse ecological habitats and important environmental resources. Prokaryotes are among the most important contributors to the transformation of complex organic compounds and minerals in freshwater sediments [1,2]. As approximately there is 250000 cubic kilometers of freshwater on earth, in the forms of lakes, inland seas and rivers, all of which potentially harbor as diverse microorganisms as assemblage as been discovered in open oceans [3-7]. We all are aware of the fact that the microorganisms are essential for life on earth to function, maintain and continue. Since formation of this planet, they have played very critical role, including being the first to colonize and also provide with transform effects of naturally occurring or man-made disruption to the environment. Bacteria were the only free living cellular organisms existing since 3.5 billion year ago. Their survival, propagation and ability to inhabit a wide variety of environments demonstrate their evolutionary success. Biodiversity is the varieties of life on earth at all its levels, from genes to ecosystems and the ecological and evolutionary processes that sustain it [8]. Biodiversity is not limited to describe the various species living in a certain habitat but it also identifies the genetic variation and the functionality of these species within their ecosystems. Therefore, nowadays biodiversity tools are in limelight, which are useful in the identification of the many unknown and undescribed microbial species living on earth. Thus, the term microbial biodiversity is gaining more importance not only to understand their evolution but also to further determine their ecological impact on certain niches and changing climate. A recent report suggests that there may be up to 1 million species of prokaryotes yet only 3,100 are known and have been fully described in Bergey’s Manual [9]. Thus, several nations show their commitment to protecting their environment, and have included ecological diversity conservation to its countries protection policies [10].