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High-Up: A Remote Reservoir of Microbial Extremophiles in Central Andean Wetlands

The Central Andes region displays unexplored ecosystems of shallow lakes and salt flats at mean altitudes of 3700 m. Being isolated and hostile, these so-called “High-Altitude Andean Lakes” (HAAL) are pristine and have been exposed to little human influence. HAAL proved to be a rich source of microb...

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Autores principales: Albarracín, Virginia H., Kurth, Daniel, Ordoñez, Omar F., Belfiore, Carolina, Luccini, Eduardo, Salum, Graciela M., Piacentini, Ruben D., Farías, María E.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4679917/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26733008
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.01404
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author Albarracín, Virginia H.
Kurth, Daniel
Ordoñez, Omar F.
Belfiore, Carolina
Luccini, Eduardo
Salum, Graciela M.
Piacentini, Ruben D.
Farías, María E.
author_facet Albarracín, Virginia H.
Kurth, Daniel
Ordoñez, Omar F.
Belfiore, Carolina
Luccini, Eduardo
Salum, Graciela M.
Piacentini, Ruben D.
Farías, María E.
author_sort Albarracín, Virginia H.
collection PubMed
description The Central Andes region displays unexplored ecosystems of shallow lakes and salt flats at mean altitudes of 3700 m. Being isolated and hostile, these so-called “High-Altitude Andean Lakes” (HAAL) are pristine and have been exposed to little human influence. HAAL proved to be a rich source of microbes showing interesting adaptations to life in extreme settings (poly-extremophiles) such as alkalinity, high concentrations of arsenic and dissolved salts, intense dryness, large daily ambient thermal amplitude, and extreme solar radiation levels. This work reviews HAAL microbiodiversity, taking into account different microbial niches, such as plankton, benthos, microbial mats and microbialites. The modern stromatolites and other microbialites discovered recently at HAAL are highlighted, as they provide unique modern—though quite imperfect—analogs of environments proxy for an earlier time in Earth's history (volcanic setting and profuse hydrothermal activity, low atmospheric O(2) pressure, thin ozone layer and high UV exposure). Likewise, we stress the importance of HAAL microbes as model poly-extremophiles in the study of the molecular mechanisms underlying their resistance ability against UV and toxic or deleterious chemicals using genome mining and functional genomics. In future research directions, it will be necessary to exploit the full potential of HAAL poly-extremophiles in terms of their biotechnological applications. Current projects heading this way have yielded detailed molecular information and functional proof on novel extremoenzymes: i.e., DNA repair enzymes and arsenic efflux pumps for which medical and bioremediation applications, respectively, are envisaged. But still, much effort is required to unravel novel functions for this and other molecules that dwell in a unique biological treasure despite its being hidden high up, in the remote Andes.
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spelling pubmed-46799172016-01-05 High-Up: A Remote Reservoir of Microbial Extremophiles in Central Andean Wetlands Albarracín, Virginia H. Kurth, Daniel Ordoñez, Omar F. Belfiore, Carolina Luccini, Eduardo Salum, Graciela M. Piacentini, Ruben D. Farías, María E. Front Microbiol Microbiology The Central Andes region displays unexplored ecosystems of shallow lakes and salt flats at mean altitudes of 3700 m. Being isolated and hostile, these so-called “High-Altitude Andean Lakes” (HAAL) are pristine and have been exposed to little human influence. HAAL proved to be a rich source of microbes showing interesting adaptations to life in extreme settings (poly-extremophiles) such as alkalinity, high concentrations of arsenic and dissolved salts, intense dryness, large daily ambient thermal amplitude, and extreme solar radiation levels. This work reviews HAAL microbiodiversity, taking into account different microbial niches, such as plankton, benthos, microbial mats and microbialites. The modern stromatolites and other microbialites discovered recently at HAAL are highlighted, as they provide unique modern—though quite imperfect—analogs of environments proxy for an earlier time in Earth's history (volcanic setting and profuse hydrothermal activity, low atmospheric O(2) pressure, thin ozone layer and high UV exposure). Likewise, we stress the importance of HAAL microbes as model poly-extremophiles in the study of the molecular mechanisms underlying their resistance ability against UV and toxic or deleterious chemicals using genome mining and functional genomics. In future research directions, it will be necessary to exploit the full potential of HAAL poly-extremophiles in terms of their biotechnological applications. Current projects heading this way have yielded detailed molecular information and functional proof on novel extremoenzymes: i.e., DNA repair enzymes and arsenic efflux pumps for which medical and bioremediation applications, respectively, are envisaged. But still, much effort is required to unravel novel functions for this and other molecules that dwell in a unique biological treasure despite its being hidden high up, in the remote Andes. Frontiers Media S.A. 2015-12-16 /pmc/articles/PMC4679917/ /pubmed/26733008 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.01404 Text en Copyright © 2015 Albarracín, Kurth, Ordoñez, Belfiore, Luccini, Salum, Piacentini and Farías. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Microbiology
Albarracín, Virginia H.
Kurth, Daniel
Ordoñez, Omar F.
Belfiore, Carolina
Luccini, Eduardo
Salum, Graciela M.
Piacentini, Ruben D.
Farías, María E.
High-Up: A Remote Reservoir of Microbial Extremophiles in Central Andean Wetlands
title High-Up: A Remote Reservoir of Microbial Extremophiles in Central Andean Wetlands
title_full High-Up: A Remote Reservoir of Microbial Extremophiles in Central Andean Wetlands
title_fullStr High-Up: A Remote Reservoir of Microbial Extremophiles in Central Andean Wetlands
title_full_unstemmed High-Up: A Remote Reservoir of Microbial Extremophiles in Central Andean Wetlands
title_short High-Up: A Remote Reservoir of Microbial Extremophiles in Central Andean Wetlands
title_sort high-up: a remote reservoir of microbial extremophiles in central andean wetlands
topic Microbiology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4679917/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26733008
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.01404
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