Integral Prospection of Andean Microbial Ecosystem Project

When microbial ecosystems first started to be reported 10 years ago, nobody reallyhad a notion of the relevance they would have in the Central Andean region.Consequently, the heritage of the microbialites reported in El Peinado, LagunaNegra, Laguna Pozo Bravo, Laguna La Brava, etc. promises to position the Andes asreservoirs of the most relevant modern microbialites on the planet (Table 17.1,Fig. 17.1). Furthermore, the number of different ecosystems is worth paying closeattention to, as it gives rise to questions such as: What favors the development ofthese ecosystems? What are the conditions that influence the precipitation of a carbonaceousor a gypsum system at such a short distance and under similar environmentalconditions, such as at the Atacama salt flat? Why are oncolites distributed so? Untilnow, it has been possible only to survey the systems and to carry out more in-depthstudies in some of them to try to achieve their preservation. Throughout the prospection of the Andean microbial ecosystems (AMEs), some shared characteristics have beenfound from the geological, physical, and chemical points of view [(1) active volcanicincidence: all of the microbial ecosystems that have been found are in some way connectedto areas where active volcanoes are present; (2) underground water input;(3) mixed zones with different salinities: underground low-conductivitywater andsalar thalassic water; (4) two kinds of microbialites found: oncolites (at LagunaNegra, Tres Quebradas, Las Quinoas, etc.) or domes with thrombolites at the bottomand stromatolites at the top surface (at La Brava, Pozo Bravo, Ojos Bravos, and ElPeinado)] and from the biological point of view [(5) predominance of diatoms, themain component in all studied systems; (6) predominance of anaerobic over aerobicphotosynthetic microorganisms; (7) microbial rhodopsin as the main system for producing adenosine triphosphate (ATP); (8) arsenicresistance and bioenergetic mechanisms;and (9) predominance of Carbon fixation pathways other than the Calvincycle]. The biological aspects of these are being studied thoroughly in our lab and arebriefly discussed below.Fil: Farias, Maria Eugenia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Villafañe, Patricio Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Lencina, Agustina Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Catamarca. Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Catamarca; Argentin

Andean Microbial Ecosystems: Traces in Hypersaline Lakes About Life Origin

High-altitude Andean lakes (HAALs) represent unique environments on the Earth where one can study the biological chemistry of life in one of its most extreme versions. The Atacama Desert, Argentine Puna, and Bolivian Altiplano harbor hypersaline lakes where polyextremophilic Andean Microbial Ecosystems (AMEs) inhabit microbial mats, evaporitic mats, biofilms (BF), evaporites (EV), and microbialites (Mi). These AMEs have two remarkable characteristics: (i) they are the only ones in the world that inhabit areas ranging from 3100 to 4200 masl; and (ii) they are excellent modern analogues of those which populated the primitive Earth ~3 billion years ago. In this chapter, we will delve into the different kinds of AMEs present in the HAAL, their formation, structure, and their adaptation to conditions largely influenced by volcanic activity, UV radiation, arsenic content, high salinity, low dissolved oxygen content, extreme daily temperature fluctuation, and oligotrophic conditions. All of these physicochemical parameters recreate the early Earth and even extraterrestrial conditions. The relevance of studying these ecosystems does not lie only in scientific-descriptive and/or economic interest. The scientific research community has a great responsibility to address climate change. In this scenario, the AMEs could have played a key role, influencing changes that allowed the origin of aerobic life and those who have faced the great climatic events of the Earth.Fil: Saona Acuña, Luis Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Soria, Mariana Noelia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Villafañe, Patricio Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Lencina, Agustina Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Stepanenko, Tatiana Mariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Farias, Maria Eugenia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; Argentin