The composition of endolithic communities in gypcrete is determined by the specific microhabitat architecture

Casero, María Cristina; Meslier, Victoria; DiRuggiero, Jocelyne; Quesada, Antonio; Ascaso, Carmen; Artieda, Octavio; Kowaluk, Tomasz; Wierzchos, Jacek

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-993-2021

Articles | Volume 18, issue 3

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-993-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-993-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 18, issue 3

Research article

|

10 Feb 2021

Research article |

| 10 Feb 2021

The composition of endolithic communities in gypcrete is determined by the specific microhabitat architecture

María Cristina Casero, Victoria Meslier, Jocelyne DiRuggiero, Antonio Quesada, Carmen Ascaso, Octavio Artieda, Tomasz Kowaluk, and Jacek Wierzchos

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-993-2021-supplement

Video supplement

CT-Scan film of a colonized piece of gypcrete. 3D spatial distribution of pores (orange colour) and external view of the rock (grey colour) on lateral, front and top views of gypcrete Casero, María Cristina Kowaluk, Tomasz Wierzchos, Jacek https://doi.org/10.5446/50209

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Short summary

Endolithic microhabitats have been described as the last refuge for life in arid and hyper-arid deserts where life has to deal with harsh environmental conditions, such as those in the Atacama Desert. In this work, three different endolithic microhabitats occurring in gypcrete rocks of the Atacama Desert are characterized, using both microscopy and molecular techniques, to show if the architecture of each microhabitat has an influence on the microbial communities inhabiting each of them.