Prokaryotic diversity pattern in high-altitude ecosystems of the Chilean Altiplano

Abstract

The Chilean Altiplano is the westernmost part of a large volcanic-sedimentary plateau in the central Andes. High solar irradiance and rapid increase of temperature have contributed to make it a hot spot of global climatic change. In this study, we describe microbial diversity in the summit lake of the Simba volcano (5,870 m) and the evaporitic basins of Salar de Aguas Calientes (4,200 m) and Laguna Lejía (4,325 m) using both culture and culture-independent methods. The results obtained were analyzed together with available information from related environments to describe the traits of the microbial community driven by main environmental factors. Isolated cultures exhibit high resistance to all three types of UV radiation, further supporting the adaptation of microorganisms to the high altitude environment. The microbial community structures at Salar de Aguas Calientes and Laguna Lejía are similar to those from other saline systems and cold environments where Bacteroidetes is the major bacterial group. The abundance of sequences related to alphaproteobacteria and methanogenic populations likely reflects the importance of aerobic anoxigenic phothosynthesis and the cycling of one-carbon compounds in the high altitude lake ecosystems. Geochemistry and microbial communities at Simba as well as those reported in the Licancabur summit lake provide evidence for sulfur-rich environments but under different conditions. Those differences between neighboring mountain lake ecosystems highlight the effect of volcanic activity on microbial communities. The hypothetical ecosystem model described in this work provides a clue to follow the microbial community responses to geophysical environment coupled with rapid climate change. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.