Credit: L. Horstmann, GFZThe 105,000 square kilometer Atacama Desert in northern Chile is thought about the driest hot desert in the world. Here we understand that it is a niche habitat that secures versus UV radiation and where water is still available so that microbial life can thrive.New method: examining deep soils in the Atacama Desert with unique DNA analysisThe deeper layers of desert soils, on the other hand, have actually just been analyzed in a couple of research studies to date. It, for that reason, could also be important for the isolated below ground specific niches investigated in this research study,” says first author Lucas Horstmann.Summary and outlook: Astonishing desert biodiversity and ramifications for extraterrestrial lifeHorstmann concludes: “The discovery of this subsurface community, which grows in alluvial fan sediments listed below 2 meters depth and shows an amazing diversity and ecological stability, challenges our present understanding of desert environments.
” The research study of microbial variety and circulation is vital to completely understand the central function of microbial processes in keeping the ecological balance and functionality of desert environments, particularly in regard of their future development in the context of environment modification,” states Dirk Wagner, head of the GFZ Geomicrobiology Section and one of the leaders of the study.Study website in the Yungay-Playa: The excavated profile pit and the laboratory trolley of the University of Antofagasta. Credit: L. Horstmann, GFZThe 105,000 square kilometer Atacama Desert in northern Chile is considered the driest hot desert in the world. Here we know that it is a niche environment that secures against UV radiation and where water is still offered so that microbial life can thrive.New method: examining deep soils in the Atacama Desert with special DNA analysisThe deeper layers of desert soils, on the other hand, have actually only been analyzed in a few research studies to date. The researchers desired to test whether the much deeper sediments of the hyperarid Atacama Desert could also be a habitat for specialized microbes.The research team studied a soil profile in the Yungay area, about 60 kilometers south-east of Antofagasta, to examine the microbial diversity and its interaction with soil homes along a depth profile that included both the sediments of the playa and the alluvial fan deposits listed below, reaching down to a depth of 4.2 meters. It, therefore, might also be vital for the isolated below ground niches investigated in this study,” states first author Lucas Horstmann.Summary and outlook: Astonishing desert biodiversity and implications for extraterrestrial lifeHorstmann concludes: “The discovery of this subsurface neighborhood, which thrives in alluvial fan sediments listed below 2 meters depth and reveals an impressive diversity and environmental stability, challenges our present understanding of desert environments.