Novel lichen-dominated hypolithic communities in the Namib Desert.

ABSTRACT: The ventral surfaces of translucent rocks from hot desert pavements often harbor hypolithic microbial communities, which are mostly dominated by cyanobacteria. The Namib Desert fog belt supports extensive hypolithic colonization of quartz rocks, which are also colonized by lichens on their dorsal surfaces. Here, we aim to evaluate whether lichens colonize the ventral surface of the rocks (i.e., show hypolithic lifestyle) and compare the bacterial composition of these coastal hypolithic communities with those found inland. Fungal DNA barcoding and fungal and bacterial Illumina metabarcoding were combined with electron microscopy to characterize the composition and spatial structure of hypolithic communities from two (coastal and inland) areas in the Namib Desert. We report, for the first ti

SUBMITTER: de Los Rios A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9015988 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature