The aim of this first book is to introduce the readers of the series to why Cuatro Ciénegas Basin (CCB) is so unique, starting with the reason why astrobiologists became interested in this oasis in the first place; namely, the high diversity and abundance of stromatolites and microbial mats in continental waters to be found in the desert oasis. As NASA has long since discovered, the basin may offer the best analog of early Earth. In essence, CCB is a time machine that can take us far back and forth in time. In the respective chapters, the contributing authors explain the extraordinary microbial diversity of Cuatro Ciénegas Basin from various perspectives. In order to do so, they explain their journey as well as the different tools used to unravel the basin's mysteries, such as: Why are there so many species in a place without food? How has life there survived the enormity of tectonic shifts through the ages, maintaining its ancient marine heritage?

Chapter 1 - Why Cuatro Ciénegas Basin (CCB) is so special, a walk through the ages: Valeria Souza (UNAM, MX)

Chapter 2 - The Global Climate Change footprint at Cuatro Ciénegas, Mexico: the increment of Extreme Climatic Event frequencies and its relation with water management: Cristina Montiel-González, Francisco Bautista, Oscar Sánchez-Meneses and Felipe García-Oliva (UNAM, MX)
Chapter 3 - Microbial saga: from the ancient past to the present: Valeria Souza, Luis Eguiarte (UNAM, MX), Gabriela Olmedo (CINVESTAV, MX), Michael Travisano (University of Minnesota, USA) and Janet Siefert (Rice University, USA)
Chapter 4 - Hyper-diversity of Virus in CCB: Blanca Taboada, Pavel Isa, Ana Lorena Gutiérrez, Rosa Maria del Ángel (UNAM, MX), Juan Ludert (CINVESTAV, MX), Ana Cecilia Espinosa, Luis E Eguiarte., Susana López, Valeria Souza and Carlos Arias ;(UNAM, MX)
Chapter 5 - How divergent is this oasis? Microbial population genomics studies: Mirna Vazquez; Zulema Gómez; Gabriel Yaxal (UNAM, MX), Gabriela Olmedo (CINVESTAV, MX), Valeria Souza Alejandra Moreno and Luis Eguiarte (UNAM, MX)
Chapter 6 - Microbial ecology in CCB: The survival at the edge of life, mutualisms with locals and antagonisms with the foreigners: Experimental and metagenomics evidence: Laura Espinosa, Eneas Aguirre, Patricia Vélez, Gabriela Olmedo (CINVESTAV, MX), Valerie de Anda, Luis E. Eguiarte and Valeria Souza (UNAM, MX)
Chapter 7 - Mesocosms and other experiments: a way to test resilience of a community: Esmeralda Nguyen López (IPICYT, MX) , Silvia Pajares (UNAM, MX) , Gabriela Olmedo (CINVESTAV, MX), Ana Escalante, Luis Eguiarte and Valeria Souza (UNAM, MX)
Chapter 8 - Bacillus as system model: Diversity and distribution, the bacillus tale: Gabriela Olmedo (CINVESTAV, MX), Ma. Dolores Rodriguez,  Luis David Alcaraz, Valeria Souza (UNAM, MX)
Chapter 9 - Ecological adaptability of Bacillus to the extreme oligotrophy of the Cuatro Cienegas Basin: Jorge Valdivia-Anistro, Luis Eguiarte-Fruns and Valeria Souza (UNAM, MX)
Chapter 10 - Actinobacteria, the story of the biotechnology potential: Héctor Arocha, Susana de la Torre, Hamlet Aviles, Francisco Barona (CINVESTAV, MX)
Index.