Microbiology under Pressure: How Microorganisms Are Affected by Pressure and How They May Cope with It

Some of the least explored frontiers in the world are the high-pressureenvironments. Until the HMS Challenger ’s expedition between 1872 and 1876 it was not even widely accepted that organisms can live under pressure far above the normal atmospheric pressure. And even much more recently we recently learned about the microorganisms withstanding not only the hydrostatic pressure but also the lithostatic pressure living within rocks. The development of a number of technical advances has been vital for acquiring relevant knowledge in this field.