Microbes from Hell

The noted microbiologist "walks the reader through his fascinating journey to understand how life evolved" in this memoir of a major scientific discovery (Nature).

At the close of the 1970s, a surprising biological discovery upended the long-held two-domain classification scheme used by most biologists—prokaryotes versus eukaryotes. That discovery was an entirely new group of organisms: archaea. Initially thought to be bacteria, these single-celled microbes—many of which were first found in seemingly unlivable habitats like the volcanic hot springs of Yellowstone National Park—were in fact so different at molecular and genetic levels as to constitute a third domain. Their discovery sparked a conceptual revolution in our understanding of the evolution of life, and Patrick Forterre was—and still is—at the vanguard of this revolution.

In Microbes from Hell, one of the world's leading experts on archaea, offers an engaging account of this taxonomic upheaval. Blending tales of his own search for thermophilic—or "heat loving"—archaea with discussions of their physiological challenges and unique evolutionary adaptations, Forterre illuminates our understanding of the relationship between archaea and the rest of Earth's organisms. From biotech applications to the latest discoveries in thermophile research, from microbiomes to the communities of organisms that dwell on deep-sea vents, Forterre's exploration of life-forms that seem to thrive in hellish environments provides a glimpse into the early days of Earth.