Foreword; R.L. Chapman. Preface; J. Seckbach. Acknowledgement. I: In the Beginning: Origin and Evolution of the First Cells. 1: Tracing the Relationships among the Eubacteria using F70 Type Sigma Factors; T.M. Gruber, D.A. Bryant. 2: Gene Transfer in Early Evolution; L. Olendzenski, J.P. Gogarten. 3: The Evolution of Algae; A.W.D. Larkum. 4: From Bacteria to Protista; H. Nakamura. 5: Eukaryogenesis: The Search for an Evolutionary Transition towards Intelligence in an Extreme Environmental Habitat of the Outer Solar System; J. Chela-Flores. 6: Fossil Bacteria; F. Westall. 7: Growth and Organisms in Ammonia: Kakabekia, a Microbial Enigma; B.Z. Siegel. II: Enigmatic Microorganisms. 8: Enigmatic Unicellar Protista: Are They Really Enigmatic? The Algae Case; D.J. Chapman. 9: The Prochlorophytes An Algal Enigma. Biology of Chlorophyll a/b Containing Photosynthetic Prokaryotes; A.F. Post. 10: Cryptomonad Systematics An Algal Enigma? P. Kugrens. 11: The Organellar Genomes of Cyanidioschyzon merolae; N. Ohta, N. Sato, T. Kuroiwa. III: The Versatile Extension of Life. 12: The Versatility of Microorganisms; M.M. Walsh, J. Seckbach. 13: Eukaryotic Cells under Extreme Conditions; D.McL. Roberts. 14: The Poikilotrophic Micro-Organism and its Environment. Microbial Strategies of Establishment, Growth and Survival; A.A. Gorbushina, W.E. Krumbein. 15: The Study of Enigmatic Microbial Communities; T.E. Jensen, W.A. Corpe. 16: Nanobacteria and Man; E. Olavi Kajander, M. Bjoerklund, N.Ciftcioglu. 17: An Enigma in Marine Nanoplankton. The Role of Star-Like Structures Produced by Phaeocystis; M.-J. Chretiennot-Dinet. 18: Algal Versatility in Various Extreme Environments; J. Elster. IV: Microorganisms in Extreme Environments. Dryness. 19: Enigmatic Desert Soil Algae, Soil Algal Flora of the Western U.S.A. and Baja California, Mexico; V.R. Flechtner. 20: Life in the Rocks Endolithic Algae; N. van Thielen, D.J. Garbary. 21: Lithobionts in the Eastern Mediterranean; J. Garty. Temperature Effects. i. Thermophiles. 22: Fine Structure of Hyperthermophilic Prokaryotes; R. Rachel. 23: The Phylogeny of Thermophiles and Hyperthermophiles and the Three Domains of Life. The Phylogeny of Thermophiles; D. Bhattacharya, T. Friedl, H. Schmidt. 24: Life in the Extreme: New Prokaryotes Living in High Temperature Low pH Environments; R.L. Weiss Bizzoco. ii. Psychrophiles. 25: Psychrophilic Yeasts; H.S. Vishniac. 26: Antarctic Microfungi; S. Onofri. Halophiles. 27: The Enigma of Square and Triangular Halophilic Archaea; A. Oren. 28: Microbial Life in the Dead Sea; A. Ventosa, D.R. Arahal. 29: Salt Sensitivity of Cells; H. Nakamura. 30: Survival of Halophilic Bacteria in Ancient Salts: Possibilities and Potentials; R.H. Vreeland, W.D. Rozenzweig. 31: Dunaliella &bgr;-Carotene. From Science to Commerce; A. Ben-Amotz. 32: Haloarchaeal Growth Physiology; R.F. Shand, A.M. Perez. Living in Enormous pH Ranges. i.