Transitory microbial habitat in the hyperarid Atacama Desert
Dirk Schulze-Makuch
(1, 2)
,
Dirk Wagner
(3, 4)
,
Samuel Kounaves
(5, 6)
,
Kai Mangelsdorf
(3)
,
Kevin Devine
(7)
,
Jean-Pierre de Vera
(8)
,
Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin
(9, 10)
,
Hans-Peter Grossart
(11, 12)
,
Victor Parro
(13)
,
Martin Kaupenjohann
(14)
,
Albert Galy
(15)
,
Beate Schneider
(1, 3)
,
Alessandro Airo
(1)
,
Jan Frösler
(16)
,
Alfonso Davila
(17)
,
Felix Arens
(18)
,
Luis Cáceres
(19)
,
Francisco Solís Cornejo
(19)
,
Daniel Carrizo
(13)
,
Lewis Dartnell
(20)
,
Jocelyne Diruggiero
(21)
,
Markus Flury
(2)
,
Lars Ganzert
(11)
,
Mark Gessner
(11, 14)
,
Peter Grathwohl
(22)
,
Lisa Guan
(10)
,
Jacob Heinz
(1)
,
Matthias Hess
(23)
,
Frank Keppler
(24)
,
Deborah Maus
(1)
,
Christopher Mckay
(17)
,
Rainer Meckenstock
(16)
,
Wren Montgomery
(6)
,
Elizabeth Oberlin
(5)
,
Alexander Probst
(16)
,
Johan Sáenz
(10)
,
Tobias Sattler
(24)
,
Janosch Schirmack
(1)
,
Mark Sephton
(6)
,
Michael Schloter
(10, 9)
,
Jenny Uhl
(10)
,
Bernardita Valenzuela
(19)
,
Gisle Vestergaard
(10)
,
Lars Wörmer
(25)
,
Pedro Zamorano
(19)
1
ZAA -
Zentrum für Astronomie und Astrophysik [Berlin]
2 WSU - Washington State University
3 GFZ - German Research Centre for Geosciences - Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam
4 Institute of Earth and Environmental Science [Potsdam]
5 Tufts University [Medford]
6 Department of Earth Science and Engineering [Imperial College London]
7 London Metropolitan University
8 DLR Institut für Planetenforschung
9 TUM - Technische Universität Munchen - Technical University Munich - Université Technique de Munich
10 Helmholtz Zentrum München = German Research Center for Environmental Health
11 IGB - Leibniz-Institut für Gewässerökologie und Binnenfischerei
12 UP - Institut fur Biochemie und Biologie, Molekularbiologie
13 INTA - Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial
14 TU - Technical University of Berlin / Technische Universität Berlin
15 CRPG - Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques
16 Universität Duisburg-Essen = University of Duisburg-Essen [Essen]
17 ARC - NASA Ames Research Center
18 Institute of Geological Sciences [Berlin]
19 Universidad de Antofagasta
20 UOW - University of Westminster [London]
21 JHU - Johns Hopkins University
22 ZAG - Center for Applied Geoscience [Tübingen]
23 UC Davis - University of California [Davis]
24 Universität Heidelberg [Heidelberg] = Heidelberg University
25 MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences [Bremen]
2 WSU - Washington State University
3 GFZ - German Research Centre for Geosciences - Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam
4 Institute of Earth and Environmental Science [Potsdam]
5 Tufts University [Medford]
6 Department of Earth Science and Engineering [Imperial College London]
7 London Metropolitan University
8 DLR Institut für Planetenforschung
9 TUM - Technische Universität Munchen - Technical University Munich - Université Technique de Munich
10 Helmholtz Zentrum München = German Research Center for Environmental Health
11 IGB - Leibniz-Institut für Gewässerökologie und Binnenfischerei
12 UP - Institut fur Biochemie und Biologie, Molekularbiologie
13 INTA - Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial
14 TU - Technical University of Berlin / Technische Universität Berlin
15 CRPG - Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques
16 Universität Duisburg-Essen = University of Duisburg-Essen [Essen]
17 ARC - NASA Ames Research Center
18 Institute of Geological Sciences [Berlin]
19 Universidad de Antofagasta
20 UOW - University of Westminster [London]
21 JHU - Johns Hopkins University
22 ZAG - Center for Applied Geoscience [Tübingen]
23 UC Davis - University of California [Davis]
24 Universität Heidelberg [Heidelberg] = Heidelberg University
25 MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences [Bremen]
Samuel Kounaves
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 812913
- ORCID : 0000-0002-2629-4831
Jean-Pierre de Vera
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 778455
- ORCID : 0000-0002-9530-5821
Hans-Peter Grossart
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 800920
- ORCID : 0000-0002-9141-0325
- IdRef : 259593656
Albert Galy
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 9035
- IdHAL : agaly
- ORCID : 0000-0001-9978-4287
- IdRef : 175270201
Markus Flury
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 812914
- ORCID : 0000-0002-3344-3962
Mark Gessner
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 758048
- ORCID : 0000-0003-2516-7416
Frank Keppler
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 769741
- ORCID : 0000-0003-2766-8812
Lars Wörmer
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 812915
- ORCID : 0000-0002-3673-3826
Résumé
Traces of life are nearly ubiquitous on Earth. However, a central unresolved question is whether these traces always indicate an active microbial community or whether, in extreme environments, such as hyperarid deserts, they instead reflect just dormant or dead cells. Although microbial biomass and diversity decrease with increasing aridity in the Atacama Desert, we provide multiple lines of evidence for the presence of an at times metabolically active, microbial community in one of the driest places on Earth. We base this observation on four major lines of evidence: ( i ) a physico-chemical characterization of the soil habitability after an exceptional rain event, ( ii ) identified biomolecules indicative of potentially active cells [e.g., presence of ATP, phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs), metabolites, and enzymatic activity], ( iii ) measurements of in situ replication rates of genomes of uncultivated bacteria reconstructed from selected samples, and ( iv ) microbial community patterns specific to soil parameters and depths. We infer that the microbial populations have undergone selection and adaptation in response to their specific soil microenvironment and in particular to the degree of aridity. Collectively, our results highlight that even the hyperarid Atacama Desert can provide a habitable environment for microorganisms that allows them to become metabolically active following an episodic increase in moisture and that once it decreases, so does the activity of the microbiota. These results have implications for the prospect of life on other planets such as Mars, which has transitioned from an earlier wetter environment to today’s extreme hyperaridity.