In a remarkable discovery, researchers have found evidence of living microbes thriving in one of the most inhospitable environments on Earth – the Atacama Desert of Chile. This vast, arid landscape is often described as the driest place on the planet, making it seemingly impossible for any life to exist. Yet, the new study reveals a diverse microbial community actively colonizing this extreme wasteland.
The key to this breakthrough was a novel technique developed by an international team of scientists led by geomicrobiologist Dirk Wagner, Ph.D., from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences. Their method allows researchers to separate the genetic material of living microbes from the fragments of dead cells, providing a clearer picture of the active microbial community.
“Microbes are the pioneers colonizing this kind of environment and preparing the ground for the next succession of life,” explains Dr. Wagner in a media release.
This newfound understanding could have implications far beyond the Atacama, as similar processes may occur in other extreme environments, such as areas affected by natural disasters or even on other planets.
The researchers, who published their research in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, collected soil samples from the Atacama Desert, stretching from the Pacific coast to the foothills of the Andes mountains. By using their innovative separation technique, they were able to identify a diverse array of living and potentially active microbes, including Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria, in even the most arid regions.
Interestingly, the team found that in the shallow soil samples (less than 5 centimeters deep), Chloroflexota bacteria dominated the group of living, intracellular DNA. This suggests that these microbes are the most active members of the community, constantly replenishing the pool of genetic material.
“If a community is really active, then a constant turnover is taking place, and that means the 2 pools should be more similar to each other,” Wagner notes.
The researchers plan to further investigate the active microbial processes in the Atacama Desert through metagenomic sequencing of the intracellular DNA. This approach, they believe, will provide deeper insights into the microbes thriving in this extreme environment, paving the way for a better understanding of life’s resilience in the most inhospitable corners of our planet.
Source: https://studyfinds.org/life-most-uninhabitable-place/