The endolithic environment, the pore space in rocks, is a ubiquitous microbial habitat and an interface between biology and geology. Photosynthesis-based endolithic communities inhabit the outer centimeters of rocks exposed to the surface, and offer model systems for microbial ecology, geobiology, and astrobiology. Endolithic ecosystems are among the simplest microbial ecosystems known and as such provide tractable models for testing ecological hypotheses. Such hypotheses have been difficult to test because microbial ecosystems are extraordinarily diverse. We review here recent culture-independent, ribosomal RNA-based studies that evaluate hypotheses about endolithic ecosystems, and provide insight for understanding general principles in microbial ecology. Comparison of endolithic communities supports the principle that patterns of microbial diversity are governed by similar principles observed in macroecological systems. Recent results also explore geobiological processes that shape the current biosphere and potentially provide clues to life's history on Earth and where to seek life elsewhere in the Solar System.

中文翻译：

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内层微生物生态系统。

内在的环境，即岩石中的孔隙空间，是无处不在的微生物栖息地，是生物学和地质学之间的接口。基于光合作用的内石器时代的群落居住在暴露于表面的岩石的外厘米中，并为微生物生态学，地球生物学和天体生物学提供了模型系统。内层生态系统是已知的最简单的微生物生态系统之一，因此为测试生态假设提供了易于处理的模型。由于微生物生态系统极其多样，因此难以验证这些假设。我们在这里回顾了最近的与文化无关的，基于核糖体RNA的研究，这些研究评估了关于内膜生态系统的假设，并为理解微生物生态学的一般原理提供了见识。内石器群落的比较支持微生物多样性模式受宏观生态系统中观察到的相似原理支配的原理。最近的结果还探索了塑造当前生物圈的地球生物学过程，并可能为地球上的生命历史以及在太阳系其他地方寻找生命的线索提供线索。