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Found beneath the driest hot desert on Earth is a hidden ecosystem
Researchers have found microscopic life 13 feet below Earth’s most hostile desert, a discovery that could have ramifications for the hunt for alien life. The study has been published in PNAS Nexus, a journal.
The driest hot desert on Earth is the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Although there are very few higher living forms, bacteria can be found in the extremely dry soil that is high in salts and sulfates.
It is believed that the top 80 cm of soil may contain some water and serve as a haven from intense UV rays. But what about farther reaches? Dirk Wagner and associates aimed to expand knowledge of the biota of the desert to the deep subterranean realm.
To gather soil samples, the authors excavated a playa in the Yungay Valley more than four meters below the surface.
To make sure that the DNA sampled came from living things, the authors developed a novel extraction technique.
After removing any loose DNA, DNA from intact cells was collected and sent for sequencing. Firmicutes dominated the microbial communities in the upper 80 cm of playa sediments. A distinct microbial population, dominated by Actinobacteria, was found below 200 cm.
Certain bacteria exhibited genetic similarities with Modestobacter caceresii and Geodermatophilus pulveris. The authors speculate that this community may have continued downhill for an infinite amount of time, representing a hitherto undiscovered deep biosphere beneath extremely dry desert soils. They speculate that this community may have first colonized the soil 19,000 years ago before being buried by playa deposits. It is possible that the bacterial community deep below depends on gypsum for water.
The authors point out that gypsum deposits are found on Mars as well, which may provide water for microbial life.
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