Functional stratification and enzymatic arrangement in microbial communities across a hypersaline depth gradient.

ABSTRACT: Extreme environments comprise a significant portion of Earth's terrestrial surface, posing challenges, such as extreme temperatures, pressure, pH extremes, oxygen and nutrient scarcity, and high salinity. Hypersaline ecosystems, such as those in the Andean Cold Deserts, exemplify extreme environments where microbial life has evolved specialized survival mechanisms. The Central Andean Mountains host extensive salt flats exposed to extreme temperature fluctuations, intense ultraviolet radiation, and high soil salinity. While most studies focus on surface layers, the impact of soil depth on functional diversity remains poorly understood. This study utilized shotgun metagenomics and functional annotation to explore enzymatic diversity across a 8-meter depth gradient in the Uyuni Salt Flat aimi

SUBMITTER: Hoepfner C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12486415 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature