Integral Prospection of Andean Microbial Ecosystem Project

Abstract

In 2009 the first layered mineral structure of Andean microbial ecosystems was reported in Argentina at Laguna Socompa, followed by Laguna Diamante and Laguna Negra. Since then, extensive prospection has been carried out at the salt flats, lagoons, geysers, and fumaroles in the highlands of the Central Andes at Bolivia’s Altiplano, Argentina’s Puna, and Chile’s Atacama Desert. Over a period of 9 years, 80 environments were prospected and 20% of them presented at least one type of these microbial ecosystems. They included biofilms, microbial mats, microbialites, and endoevaporites inhabiting gypsum domes. A detailed update report on these systems is included in this book. However, reports on many of them have not been published yet or are just about to be published. The knowledge generated in the prospection of microbial systems allows observation of their common and particular characteristics. In this chapter, the particularities of the layered mineral structure of these Andean microbial ecosystems-such as the predominance of diatoms, the role of Archaea, the main carbon fixation pathways, and rhodopsin system predominance-are briefly discussed and a general update on this prospection is provided.