ABSTRACT
Extremophiles are ubiquitous living entities that thrive in extreme environments such as high-level of salty conditions, presence of contaminants, high temperature, low temperature, high UV or on substrates having acidic or alkaline pH. Extremophiles are the microbes belonging to Bacteria and Archaea domains. These microorganisms have adapted themselves in their genetic as well as metabolic machinery to grow well in the aggressive habitats. A few of these microorganisms symbolize the extremely earliest life forms which must have flourished on planet billions of years ago. Over the past years, the adaptive strategies and physiological capacities of extremophilic microbes have encouraged a lot of attention with context to bioremediation. Recently, extremophiles are the focal point of increasing importance for bioremediation since they are capable of tolerating exceptionally severe ecological conditions. In this chapter, an outline of the extremophiles is discussed which have prospective applications in the process of bioremediation of ecological contaminants.
