Hyperdiverse archaea near life limits at the polyextreme geothermal Dallol area.

ABSTRACT: Microbial life has adapted to various individual extreme conditions; yet, organisms simultaneously adapted to very low pH, high salt and high temperature are unknown. We combined environmental 16S/18S ribosomal RNA gene metabarcoding, cultural approaches, fluorescence-activated cell sorting, scanning electron microscopy and chemical analyses to study samples along such unique polyextreme gradients in the Dallol-Danakil area in Ethiopia. We identified two physicochemical barriers to life in the presence of surface liquid water defined by (1) high chaotropicity-low water activity in Mg²⁺/Ca²⁺-dominated brines and (2) hyperacidity-salt combinations (pH ~0/NaCl-dominated salt saturation). When detected, life was dominated by highly diverse ultrasmall archaea that were wid

SUBMITTER: Belilla J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6837875 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature