Persistent microbial communities in hyperarid subsurface habitats of the Atacama Desert: Insights from intracellular DNA analysis.

ABSTRACT: Desert environments constitute one of the largest and yet most fragile ecosystems on Earth. Under the absence of regular precipitation, microorganisms are the main ecological component mediating nutrient fluxes by using soil components, like minerals and salts, and atmospheric gases as a source for energy and water. While most of the previous studies on microbial ecology of desert environments have focused on surface environments, little is known about microbial life in deeper sediment layers. Our study is extending the limited knowledge about microbial communities within the deeper subsurface of the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert. By employing intracellular DNA extraction and subsequent 16S rRNA sequencing of samples collected from a soil pit in the Yungay region of the Atacama Dese

SUBMITTER: Horstmann L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11037274 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature