Microbial Ecosystems in Central Andes Extreme Environments

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxiv

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2. General Considerations

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Origin and Evolution of the Central Andes: Deserts, Salars, Lakes, and Volcanoes

      • Ricardo N. Alonso, Walter Rojas

      Pages 3-19

   3. Modern Microbial Mats and Endoevaporite Systems in Andean Lakes: A General Approach

      • María Eugenia Farías, Luis Alberto Saona Acuña

      Pages 21-33

3. Preandean and Andean Atacama Desert: Life at Limits

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 35-35

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   2. The Desert Polyextreme Environment and Endolithic Habitats

      • Jacek Wierzchos, Carmen Ascaso, Octavio Artieda, María Cristina Casero

      Pages 37-49

   3. Preandean Atacama Desert Endolithic Microbiology

      • María Cristina Casero, Victoria Meslier, Jacek Wierzchos, Jocelyne DiRuggiero

      Pages 51-71

   4. Desert Biosignatures

      • Petr Vítek, Jacek Wierzchos

      Pages 73-85

   5. Microbial Characterization of Andean Peatland’s Soil

      • Carolina Belfiore, Ana Paula Santos, Alejandra Leonor Valdez, Manuel Contreras Leiva, María Eugenia Farías

      Pages 87-93

4. Life in Andean Volcanoes and Fumaroles

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 95-95

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   2. Of Microbes and Mummies: Tales of Microbial Activity and Inactivity at 6000 m a.s.l.

      • Steven K. Schmidt, Preston Sowell, Zachary R. Schubert, Lara Vimercati, Adam J. Solon, Dorota L. Porazinska et al.

      Pages 97-112

   3. A Unique Natural Laboratory to Study Polyextremophile Microorganisms: Diamante Lake as a Window to the Origin of Life

      • Tatiana Stepanenko, Mariana N. Soria, Luis Alberto Saona Acuña, Agustina I. Lencina, María Eugenia Farías

      Pages 113-120

5. Evaporitic Microbial Ecosystems at Salars: Living in the Salt

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 121-121

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   2. Microbial Communities Composition, Activity, and Dynamics at Salar de Huasco: A Polyextreme Environment in the Chilean Altiplano

      • Cristina Dorador, Verónica Molina, Martha Hengst, Yoanna Eissler, Marcela Cornejo, Camila Fernández et al.

      Pages 123-139

   3. Prokaryotic Diversity at the Hypersaline Laguna Tebenquiche in the Salar de Atacama, Chile

      • Ana Beatriz Fernández, Pieter T. Visscher, María Cecilia Rasuk, Manuel Contreras Leiva, María Eugenia Farías

      Pages 141-152

   4. Complete Characterization of Stratified Ecosystems of the Salar de Llamara (Atacama Desert)

      • María Cecilia Rasuk, Manuel Contreras Leiva, Daniel Kurth, María Eugenia Farías

      Pages 153-164

   5. Microbial Diversity in Athalassohaline Argentinean Salterns

      • Merit del Rocío Mora-Ruiz, Carlos Díaz-Gil

      Pages 165-179

6. Carbonatic Microbialites at Central Andean Lakes

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 181-181

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   2. Characterization of Microbialites and Microbial Mats of the Laguna Negra Hypersaline Lake (Puna of Catamarca, Argentina)

      • Flavia Jaquelina Boidi, Estela Cecilia Mlewski, Fernando Javier Gomez, Emmanuelle Gérard

      Pages 183-203

   3. Extreme Microbiology at Laguna Socompa: A High-Altitude Andean Lake (3570 m a.s.l.) in Salta, Argentina

      • Virginia Helena Albarracín, Fátima Silvina Galván, María Eugenia Farías

      Pages 205-220

The Central Andean Altiplane represents a unique extreme environment due to its high altitude, closed basins that modulate the salt pans and saline wetlands surrounded by deserts, as well as the considerable influence of volcanic activity. UV radiation, arsenic content, high salinity, alkalinity and low dissolved oxygen levels, together with extreme daily temperature fluctuations and oligotrophic conditions, shape an environment that resembles the early Earth and, even more, extraterrestrial conditions. By developing simple biofilms stratified microbial mats or complex microbialites, extreme microbial ecosystems, colonize and thrived in different environments like salt flats, wetlands, lakes volcano vents, geysers and deserts. This book presents our current understanding of these amazing ecosystems, providing a basis for their protection and sustainable utilization. The main audience for this book included researchers and graduate students as well as professionals working in the government, mining industry and similar activities.

• Extremophiles
• Microbial Ecology
• High Altitude Ecology
• Extremolytes
• Andean Microbiology
• Desert microbiology
• Andean Microbial Ecosystem project

• LIMLA-PROIMI-CONICET, Tucuman, Argentina

  María Eugenia Farías

Dr. María Eugenia Farías graduated with honors in Biology at the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán and obtained her PhD in Microbiology from the same institution followed by a postdoctoral at the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CIB - CSIC) in Madrid. In 2003 she created the Laboratory of Microbiological Research in Andean Lagoons (LIMLA) dedicated to the study of the microbiological biodiversity of the lagoons, salt pans and volcanoes of the Argentinean Puna. In 2009, she discovered microbial ecosystems in the region and since then, through intense scientific activity and dissemination, she has been promoting activities aimed at protecting extremophile ecosystems in the context of mining activity in the region. She was involved in the creation of a Protected Area in Socompa and created the first collection of endangered microorganisms and metagenomas of the Andean Extremophiles ecosystems (algae, archaea, bacteria and fungi). Besides her many research article publications, she was also mentioned in the L'Oreal –UNESCO for woman in Science award in 2011 and is currently doing a Surveying of extreme microbial ecosystems associated with minerals (microbialites, microbial mats, and endoevaporites) in Central Andes, of Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia. 

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