Connectivity of Edaphic and Endolithic Microbial Niches in Cold Mountain Desert of Eastern Pamir (Tajikistan).

ABSTRACT: Microbial communities found in arid environments are commonly represented by biological soil crusts (BSCs) and endolithic assemblages. There is still limited knowledge concerning endoliths and BSCs occurring in the cold mountain desert of Pamir. The aim of the study was to investigate the composition and structure of endolithic bacterial communities in comparison to surrounding BSCs in three subregions of the Eastern Pamir (Tajikistan). The endolithic and BSC communities were studied using culture-independent and culture-dependent techniques. The structure of the endolithic bacterial communities can be characterized as Actinobacteria-Proteobacteria-Bacteroidetes-Chloroflexi-Cyanobacteria, while the BSCs' can be described as Proteobacteria-Actinobacteria-Bacteroidetes-Cyanobacteria assembla

SUBMITTER: Khomutovska N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8069199 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature