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Salar de Uyuni (SdU) is the largest athalassohaline environment on Earth with a surface area of approximately 10,582 Km2. It is located at an altitude of 3,653 metres above sea level, in the central depression of the Bolivian Altiplano. SdU is characterised as an environment with poly-extreme conditions given its hypersalinity, desiccation conditions (0.413 – 0.856 aw) and the high concentration of chaotropic salts such as MgCl2, LiCl and NaBr, which destabilize the formation of hydrogen bonds and induce water stress. The microbial ecology of the SdU was studied using a combination of different approaches. Members of all three domains of life were identified in the salar samples. The bacterial community identified was more heterogeneous than the archaeal community, with geographical variations in both domains induced by the high
concentration of chaotropic cations (Mg2+ and Li+). A total of 235 isolates were obtained, classified into 67 species of microorganisms described as halophilic or halotolerant. Additionally, the viral community of the ecosystem was studied.
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Speaker: Jose M. Martínez (Programa Científico de Interacciones con el Entorno, Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (CBM, Biologia Molecular. Autonoma University of Madrid, Spain).
Sponsor: RCC; Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.