Endolith

<p>An endolith or endolithic is an <a href="/facts/Organism/j8JkL09u">organism</a> (<a href="/facts/Archaea/Adxh0aHw">archaeon</a>, <a href="/facts/Bacterium/wC8xSCsU">bacterium</a>, <a href="/facts/Fungus/BHo5DP59">fungus</a>, <a href="/facts/Lichen/cfbt9vjj">lichen</a>, <a href="/facts/Algae/U1ftVKU3">algae</a>, <a href="/facts/Sponge/E9T2WFWA">sponge</a>, or <a href="/facts/Amoeboid/zhRv2axS">amoeba</a>) that is able to acquire the necessary resources for growth in the inner part of a <a href="/facts/Rock_(geology)/FXCJkmop">rock</a>, mineral, <a href="/facts/Coral/j7fBLrpw">coral</a>, <a href="/facts/Exoskeleton/Wlmru4GW">animal shells</a>, or in the <a href="/facts/Porosity/UoyAJU8X">pores</a> between <a href="/facts/Mineral/LkUFbNmv">mineral</a> grains of a rock.  Many are <a href="/facts/Extremophile/JGk1eYCk">extremophiles</a>, living in places long considered inhospitable to life. The distribution, biomass, and diversity of endolith microorganisms are determined by the physical and chemical properties of the rock substrate, including the mineral composition, permeability, the presence of organic compounds, the structure and distribution of pores, water retention capacity, and the pH. Normally, the endoliths colonize the areas within lithic substrates to withstand intense solar radiation, temperature fluctuations, wind, and desiccation. 
They are of particular interest to <a href="/facts/Astrobiology/GS1tFhrf">astrobiologists</a>, who theorize that endolithic environments on <a href="/facts/Mars/AQGtVvz0">Mars</a> and other planets constitute potential <a href="/facts/Refugium_(population_biology)/PQwFn7en">refugia</a> for extraterrestrial microbial communities.
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Endolith open-in-new

Endolith