Actinobacterial Rare Biospheres and Dark Matter Revealed in Habitats of the Chilean Atacama Desert
Abstract The Atacama Desert is the most extreme non-polar biome on Earth, the core region of which is considered to represent the dry limit for life and to be an analogue for Martian soils. This study focused on actinobacteria because they are keystone species in terrestrial ecosystems and are ackno...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2017-08-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-08937-4 |
| _version_ | 1818841672351481856 |
|---|---|
| author | Hamidah Idris Michael Goodfellow Roy Sanderson Juan A. Asenjo Alan T. Bull |
| author_facet | Hamidah Idris Michael Goodfellow Roy Sanderson Juan A. Asenjo Alan T. Bull |
| author_sort | Hamidah Idris |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The Atacama Desert is the most extreme non-polar biome on Earth, the core region of which is considered to represent the dry limit for life and to be an analogue for Martian soils. This study focused on actinobacteria because they are keystone species in terrestrial ecosystems and are acknowledged as an unrivalled source of bioactive compounds. Metagenomic analyses of hyper-arid and extreme hyper-arid soils in this desert revealed a remarkable degree of actinobacterial ‘dark matter’, evidenced by a detected increase of 34% in families against those that are validly published. Rank-abundance analyses indicated that these soils were high-diversity habitats and that the great majority of designated ‘rare’ genera (up to 60% of all phylotypes) were always rare. These studies have enabled a core actinobacterial microbiome common to both habitats to be defined. The great majority of detected taxa have not been recovered by culture dependent methods, neither, with very few exceptions, has their functional ecology been explored. A microbial seed bank of this magnitude has significance not just for Atacama soil ecosystem resilience but represents an enormous untapped resource for biotechnology discovery programmes in an era where resistance to existing antibiotics is rapidly becoming a major threat to global health. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T04:29:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f1d8f84c67824c2b885c489236273fce |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T04:29:48Z |
| publishDate | 2017-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-f1d8f84c67824c2b885c489236273fce2022-12-21T20:35:56ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222017-08-017111110.1038/s41598-017-08937-4Actinobacterial Rare Biospheres and Dark Matter Revealed in Habitats of the Chilean Atacama DesertHamidah Idris0Michael Goodfellow1Roy Sanderson2Juan A. Asenjo3Alan T. Bull4School of Biology, Ridley Building, Newcastle UniversitySchool of Biology, Ridley Building, Newcastle UniversitySchool of Biology, Ridley Building, Newcastle UniversityCentre for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (CeBiB), Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Chile, Beauchef 851School of Biosciences, University of Kent, CanterburyAbstract The Atacama Desert is the most extreme non-polar biome on Earth, the core region of which is considered to represent the dry limit for life and to be an analogue for Martian soils. This study focused on actinobacteria because they are keystone species in terrestrial ecosystems and are acknowledged as an unrivalled source of bioactive compounds. Metagenomic analyses of hyper-arid and extreme hyper-arid soils in this desert revealed a remarkable degree of actinobacterial ‘dark matter’, evidenced by a detected increase of 34% in families against those that are validly published. Rank-abundance analyses indicated that these soils were high-diversity habitats and that the great majority of designated ‘rare’ genera (up to 60% of all phylotypes) were always rare. These studies have enabled a core actinobacterial microbiome common to both habitats to be defined. The great majority of detected taxa have not been recovered by culture dependent methods, neither, with very few exceptions, has their functional ecology been explored. A microbial seed bank of this magnitude has significance not just for Atacama soil ecosystem resilience but represents an enormous untapped resource for biotechnology discovery programmes in an era where resistance to existing antibiotics is rapidly becoming a major threat to global health.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-08937-4 |
| spellingShingle | Hamidah Idris Michael Goodfellow Roy Sanderson Juan A. Asenjo Alan T. Bull Actinobacterial Rare Biospheres and Dark Matter Revealed in Habitats of the Chilean Atacama Desert Scientific Reports |
| title | Actinobacterial Rare Biospheres and Dark Matter Revealed in Habitats of the Chilean Atacama Desert |
| title_full | Actinobacterial Rare Biospheres and Dark Matter Revealed in Habitats of the Chilean Atacama Desert |
| title_fullStr | Actinobacterial Rare Biospheres and Dark Matter Revealed in Habitats of the Chilean Atacama Desert |
| title_full_unstemmed | Actinobacterial Rare Biospheres and Dark Matter Revealed in Habitats of the Chilean Atacama Desert |
| title_short | Actinobacterial Rare Biospheres and Dark Matter Revealed in Habitats of the Chilean Atacama Desert |
| title_sort | actinobacterial rare biospheres and dark matter revealed in habitats of the chilean atacama desert |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-08937-4 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hamidahidris actinobacterialrarebiospheresanddarkmatterrevealedinhabitatsofthechileanatacamadesert AT michaelgoodfellow actinobacterialrarebiospheresanddarkmatterrevealedinhabitatsofthechileanatacamadesert AT roysanderson actinobacterialrarebiospheresanddarkmatterrevealedinhabitatsofthechileanatacamadesert AT juanaasenjo actinobacterialrarebiospheresanddarkmatterrevealedinhabitatsofthechileanatacamadesert AT alantbull actinobacterialrarebiospheresanddarkmatterrevealedinhabitatsofthechileanatacamadesert |