Maria E. Farías

Puna.Bio · Prospection and Frontier Science

We describe stromatolites forming at an altitude of 3570 m at the shore of a volcanic lake Socompa, Argentinean Andes. The water at the site of stromatolites formation is alkaline, hypersaline, rich in inorganic nutrients, very rich in arsenic, and warm (20-24°C) due to a hydrothermal input. The stromatolites do not lithify, but form broad, rounded...

In this paper, we report the presence of sedimentary microbial ecosystems in wetlands of the Salar de Atacama. These laminated systems, which bind, trap and precipitate mineral include: microbial mats at Laguna Tebenquiche and Laguna La Brava, gypsum domes at Tebenquiche and carbonate microbialites at La Brava. Microbial diversity and key biogeoche...

Arsenic metabolism is proposed to be an ancient mechanism in microbial life. Different bacteria and archaea use detoxification processes to grow under high arsenic concentration. Some of them are also able to use arsenic as a bioenergetic substrate in either anaerobic arsenate respiration or chemolithotrophic growth on arsenite. However, among the...

Understanding how microorganisms adapted to the high arsenic concentration present on early Earth requires understanding of the processes involved in the arsenic biogeochemical cycle operating in living microbial mats. To this end, we investigated a living microbial mat from Laguna Brava (Salar de Atacama, Chile), a hypersaline lake with high arsen...

The earliest evidence of life captured in lithified microbial mats (microbialites) predates the onset of oxygen production and yet, modern oxygenic mats are often studied as analogs based on their morphological similarity and their sedimentological and biogeochemical context. Despite their structural similarity to fossil microbialites, the presence...

The regulation of O2 production by cyanobacteria is critical to understanding the coevolution of oxygenic photosynthesis (OP) and Earth's redox landscape. This includes their response to electron donors for competitive anoxygenic photosynthesis, like arsenic. In this work, we assessed the effect of arsenic cycling on photosynthetic activity in a mo...

Laguna Verde's dome‐shaped structures are distinctive formations within the Central Andes, displaying unique geomicrobiological features. This study represents a pioneering investigation into these structures, assessing their formation, associated taxa, and ecological significance. Through a multifaceted approach that includes chemical analysis of...

High Andean wetlands, particularly those known as vegas or bofedales, are essential conservation ecosystems due to their significant contribution to ecosystem services. The soil microbial communities in these ecosystems play a crucial role in fundamental processes such as decomposition and nutrient cycling, sustaining life in the region. However, a...

Laguna Verde~̵́s dome-shaped structures represent one of the most important Andean Microbial Ecosystems (AMEs) reported in the Central Andes. To date, this system lacks any kind of geomicrobiological research, so the following article represents the first study of these dome-shaped structures and their associated taxa. For this purpose, a chemical...

In this work, a geological sample of great astrobiological interest was studied through analytical techniques that are currently operating in situ on Mars and others that will operate in the near future. The sample analyzed consisted of an oncoid, which is a type of microbialite, collected in the Salar Carachi Pampa, Argentina. The main peculiarity...

High-Altitude Andean Lakes have been described as polyextremophilic environments and plenty photoinduced processes have been documented. Lake Diamante metagenomic taxonomical analysis revealed mostly members from Archaea domain of life. In this context, we searched for Light Oxygen Voltage photoreceptors where 24 of these Archaeal sequences were pa...

The establishment of biological soil crusts is widely perceived as a main strategy to improve the ecological environment in arid and semi‐arid regions. However, artificial biocrusts fail to withstand environmental stresses when using traditional methods for initial establishment. Hence, in this study, kaolin, a common clay mineral, was introduced a...

A putative xanthorhodopsin-encoding gene, XR34, was found in the genome of the moderately halophilic gammaproteobacterium Salinivibrio socompensis S34, isolated from modern stromatolites found on the shore of Laguna Socompa (3570 m), Argentina Puna. XR-encoding genes were clustered together with genes encoding X-carotene, retinal (vitamin-A aldehyd...

Microcoleus vaginatus has been regarded as the important contributor for biocrust formation and ecological services. However, little is known about its living forms in biocrusts, and whether the living form is related to biocrust structure and ecological functions. Therefore, in this study, natural biocrusts collected from the Gurbantunggut Desert...

Non-ferrous metal mining activities are known to cause ecological irreversible damage in the tailings and surrounding areas as well as heavy metal (HM) contamination. The enhancement of Chlorella-montmorillonite interaction on the remediation of HM contaminated tailings was verified from the lab to the tailings in Daye City, Hubei Province, China....

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have a positive effect on plant development and being a promising way to enhance crop productivity and as substitution of chemical fertilizers. Selenium (Se) is an important trace element and its intake is usually lower than the daily minimum amount required for humans; hence, there is a demand on the des...

Background Recently, it has been found that nitrogen (N) deposition strongly affects the coverage of biocrusts. However, we know little about the response of exopolysaccharides (EPSs), the key cementing material in the formation and stability of biocrusts, to N deposition. Method Three N-sources including nitrate, ammonia and urea were added to bi...

The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit investigated plains at Gusev crater, where sedimentary rocks are present. The Spirit rover's Athena morphological investigation shows microstructures organized in intertwined filaments of microspherules: a texture we have also found on samples of terrestrial stromatolites and other microbialites. We performed a qua...

Coal preparation plants are devoted to finding new strategies for reducing fresh water consumption, however, rarely taking consideration on slurry microorganisms. The impact of the abundant microorganisms on coal flotation, especially the isolated indigenous bacteria Bacillus sp. QX4 was systematically investigated in this study. Orthogonal experim...

The study of microbialites development is a key tool to understand environmental pathways during deposition. We provide a detailed analysis of modern Central Andean microbialites from high‐altitude lakes. The stratigraphic record of Turquesa Lake shows a significant short‐term recolonization by microbialite‐producing microorganisms during environme...

In this study, high-phosphorus beared microalgae was prepared by cultivating modification in high-phosphorus culture, and used for the enhanced Cd(II) biomineralization in soil. Batch experiment results showed that Chlorella sorokiniana FK was modified successfully in highly phosphate culture. Both intracellular P (Poly-P, 29.7 mg/kg) and surface P...

Modern non-lithifying stromatolites on the shore of the volcanic lake Socompa (SST) in the Puna are affected by several extreme conditions. The present study assesses for the first time light utilization and functional metabolic stratification of SST on a millimeter scale through shotgun metagenomics. In addition, a scanning-electron-microscopy app...

Modern microbialites in Argentina’s Puna (Central Andes) are considered a reliable tool for understanding the evolution of early life on our planet and developing strategies for detecting life on Mars. The morphological, structural and geochemical variations in these deposits, together with their distribution and architecture, are some of the most...

In this study, living Chlorella sorokiniana FK with an elevated concentration of cell envelop sulfur sites, induced by adding excess sulfate to the medium, was used as biosorbents for the removal of Hg(II) from aqueous solution. The cellular surface sulfur-based sites density of the obtained biosorbents was determined through selective sulfhydryl s...

Background Recently, it has been found that nitrogen (N) deposition could strongly affect the spatial pattern of biocrusts by reducing their cover. However, as the key cementing materials in the formation and stabilization of biocrusts, little has been known about the response of exopolysaccharides (EPS) to N deposition. Method Three N sources nitr...

Background Recently, it has been found that nitrogen (N) deposition could strongly affect the spatial pattern of biocrusts by reducing their cover. However, as the key cementing materials in the formation and stabilization of biocrusts, little has been known about the response of exopolysaccharides (EPS) excreted by cyanobacteria in biocrusts to N...

The Altiplano-Puna region is a high-altitude plateau in South America characterized by extreme conditions, including the highest UV incidence on Earth. The Laguna Negra is a hypersaline lake located in the Catamarca Province, northwestern Argentina, where stromatolites and other microbialites are found, and where life is mostly restricted to microb...

Andean wetlands hold extremophilic communities adapted to live in harsh conditions. Here, we investigated the microbial ecology of three high-altitude hypersaline ponds from La Puna region (Argentina) showing an increasing extent of desiccation by analyzing their lipid sedimentary record. We recreated the microbial community structure and the carbo...

As the critical ecological engineers, biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are considered to play essential roles in improving substrate conditions during ecological rehabilitation processes. Physical disturbance, however, often leads to the degradation of biocrusts, and it remains unclear how the physical disturbance affects biocrust microorganisms...

Cyanobacterial inoculation is a promising technology that can induce biocrust development, for stabilizing degraded soils in dryland environments. However, it is challenging to grow cyanobacteria in dry, saline soils, which limits the application of this technology. In this study, NaCl was added into field-collected induced biocrusts to investigate...

The establishment of biological soil crusts is widely perceived as a main method to control ecological environment in arid and semi-arid regions. However, artificial biocrusts are insufficient to face with some stress from environment by using traditional established methods. Hence in this study, kaolin, a common clay mineral, was introduced as a s...

In the Central Andean region in South America, high-altitude ecosystems (3500–6000 masl) are distributed across Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru, in which poly-extremophilic microbes thrive under extreme environmental conditions. In particular, in the Puna region, total solar irradiation and UV incidence are the highest on Earth, thus, restraini...

Bacteria isolated from extreme environments have been shown to promote plant growth under challenging conditions. This study aimed to examine the performance of the extremophilic microorganisms under salt stress and their ability to improve the tolerance of soybean plants to this stress. In vitro experiments showed that bacteria belonging to the ge...

Abstract Aquatic biota in high altitude Andean wetlands is exposed to extreme environmental conditions that influence ecological parameters at population and community levels. We analyzed changes in occurrence, taxa richness and relative abundance of diatom and invertebrate assemblages in four saline wetlands located at the same altitude (approx. 3...

Modern non-lithifying stromatolites (STs) on the shore of the volcanic lake Socompa in the Puna are affected by several extreme conditions. Although STs were proposed as ecologic models for understanding stress response and resilience in microbial ecosystems constituting a window into the past, our knowledge of ST function is still nascent. The pre...

The wetlands and salt flats of the Central Andes region are unique extreme environments as they are located in high-altitude saline deserts, largely influenced by volcanic activity. Environmental factors, such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation, arsenic content, high salinity, low dissolved oxygen content, extreme daily temperature fluctuation, and olig...

Pozo Bravo is a high-altitude Andean lake that harbors modern microbialites thriving in hypersaline conditions in the Salar de Antofalla, one of the driest sites on Earth and located in the Puna region of Catamarca, northwest Argentine. Due to the lake physiography, microbialites are restricted to a narrow belt following Pozo Bravo lake variations....

Diamante Lake located at 4589 m.a.s.l. in the Andean Puna constitutes an extreme environment. It is exposed to multiple extreme conditions such as an unusually high concentration of arsenic (over 300 mg L ⁻¹ ) and low oxygen pressure. Microorganisms thriving in the lake display specific genotypes that facilitate survival, which include at least a m...

The Salar de Atacama in the Chilean Central Andes harbors unique microbial ecosystems due to extreme environmental conditions, such as high altitude, low oxygen pressure, high solar radiation, and high salinity. Combining X-ray diffraction analyses, scanning electron microscopy and molecular diversity studies, we have characterized twenty previousl...

Central-Andean Ecosystems (between 2000 and 6000 m above sea level (masl) are typical arid-to-semiarid environments suffering from the highest total solar and ultraviolet-B radiation on the planet but displaying numerous salt flats and shallow lakes. Andean microbial ecosystems isolated from these environments are of exceptional biodiversity enduri...

Extremophilic microorganisms were screened as biocontrol agents against two strains of Macrophomina phaseolina (Mp02 and 06). Stenotrophomonas sp. AG3 and Exiguobacterium sp. S58 exhibited a potential in vitro antifungal effect on Mp02 growth, corresponding to 52.2% and 40.7% inhibition, respectively. This effect was confirmed by scanning electron...

As important parts of microbe–mineral associations, microalgae–montmorillonite composites are common in nature environment, which have been overlooked for a long time. In this study, the binding of Cd(II) in the montmorillonite, microalgae and their 1:5, 1:10 mass ratio composites interface were investigated. The results showed that maximum adsorpt...

The combined electrosorption and chemisorption (CEC) behavior of As(III) with diluted concentration by manganese dioxide (MnO2) as the electrode was studied in this work. The CEC adsorption was better conformed to the pseudo-first-order kinetics and Langmuir model with the maximum adsorption capacity of 10.45 mg/g. Moreover, the conversion rate of...

In this study, Chlorella sorokiniana FK, isolated from lead-zinc tailings, was employed for Pb(II) biomineralization with or without montmorillonite (MMT) addition in soil. Batch experiment results showed that montmorillonite facilitated Pb3(CO3)2(OH)2 formation on the surface of Chlorella-MMT composite, thus increasing algal cells’ tolerance to Pb...

Microbialite‐producing microorganisms that inhabit the Puna lakes are traditionally considered constituents of fragile microsystems, unable to resist important environmental variations. Nevertheless, this region has experienced significant climatic fluctuations during the Holocene, raising the unsolved issue on how microbialite‐forming systems have...

Arsenic (As) is a metalloid present in the earth’s crust and widely distributed in the environment. Due to its high concentrations in the Andean valleys and its chemical similarity with phosphorus (P), its biological role in Andean Microbial Ecosystems (AMEs) has begun to be studied. The AMEs are home to extremophilic microbial communities that for...

The Salar de Antofalla (salt flat) is located in the Puna region of Catamarca, in northern Argentina. In this paper we report and provide the first descriptive data of Las Quínoas, a modern system of oncoids located in the western margin of the salt flat. Oncoids were studied by in-situ logging, polished and thin sections analysis. In addition, the...

In this study, living algae Didymogenes palatina XR was cultured in high-phosphorus medium for efficient Cd²⁺ immobilization from diluted wastewater solution. Algae cultivated from different phosphorus concentration medium was used to investigate its production and adsorption performances of Cd²⁺. This study showed that microalgae is sensitive to l...

In this work, molecular diversity of two hypersaline microbial mats was compared by Whole Genome Shotgun (WGS) sequencing of environmental DNA from the mats. Brava and Tebenquiche are lakes in the Salar de Atacama, Chile, where microbial communities are growing in extreme conditions, including high salinity, high solar irradiance, and high levels o...

The known diversity of the genus Liolaemus continues to increase, principally due to its great degree of endemism, the increasing number of researchers working on it, and advances in the taxonomic and phylogenetic knowledge of the genus. This diversity positions Liolaemus as the second most species-rich tetrapod genus. The present work adds to evid...

Central Andean Ecosystems (between 2000 and 6000 masl) are typical arid to semiarid environments suffering from the highest total solar and UVB radiation on the planet but displaying numerous salt flats and shallow lakes. Isolated from these environments, Andean Microbial Communities (AME) of exceptional biodiversity endures multiple severe conditi...

During evolution, microorganisms exposed to high amounts of UV-B irradiation developed fine-tuned photo-enzymes called ‘photolyases’ to cope with DNA damage caused by UV-B. These photoreceptors, belonging to the cryptochrome/photolyase family (CPF), have been well characterized at the genomic and proteomic level in bacteria isolated from a wide ran...

High-altitude Andean lakes (HAALs) represent unique environments on the Earth where one can study the biological chemistry of life in one of its most extreme versions. The Atacama Desert, Argentine Puna, and Bolivian Altiplano harbor hypersaline lakes where polyextremophilic Andean Microbial Ecosystems (AMEs) inhabit microbial mats, evaporitic mats...

Mobile genetic elements, including plasmids, drive the evolution of prokaryotic genomes through the horizontal transfer of genes allowing genetic exchange between bacteria. Moreover, plasmids carry accessory genes, which encode functions that may offer an advantage to the host. Thus, it is expected that in a certain ecological niche, plasmids are e...

While it is true that the chemistry of current life is well defined, 3.5 billion years ago, everything could have been different. Other elements may have been part of the chemical reactions that finally triggered an endless iteration with well-defined laws that gave way—and continue to give way—to the evolution of life. In this sense, arsenic could...

Salar de Llamara is situated in the north of the Atacama Desert, which is the driest desert and one of the most irradiated places on Earth. Besides, its subterranean hypersaline waters contain a high content of arsenic, among other compounds such as heavy metals that are poisonous to life in the concentrations present. Despite these extreme conditi...

UV irradiation and the effect on microbial diversity and ecological impact was studied in Laguna Socompa, a hypersaline and moderate alkaline lake located at 3570 m a.s.l. at the base of the active Socompa volcano. The microbialites thriving on its shore are the highest on Earth, which exhibit an atypical microbial community with abundant represent...

Diamante Lake is located at 4589 m above sea level (m a.s.l.) inside the Galán Volcano caldera and presents extreme environmental conditions, such as high arsenic concentration (210 mg l⁻¹), salinity, pH and UV radiation. Until 2010, most studies in the area had largely overlooked the microbial biodiversity in Diamante Lake. With the advent of high...

Puna wetlands and salars are a unique extreme environment all over the world, since their locations are in high-altitude saline deserts, largely influenced by volcanic activity. Ultraviolet radiation, arsenic content, high salinity, and low dissolved oxygen content, together with extreme daily temperature fluctuations and oligotrophic conditions, s...

Peatlands are plant formations established in an edaphic environment, mainly organic, characterized by a water condition of permanent saturation, which works as an oasis that promotes abundant biological diversity in the arid high-altitude environment. Peatlands present cultural, environmental, and economic social relevance because they are sources...

The Salar de Atacama depression is a unique geomorphologic structure in northern Chile and is the oldest and largest evaporitic basin in that country. In the lowest region of the Atacama basin, groundwater surfaces forms a series of lakes that are exposed to the extreme conditions of the salar, including high ultraviolet radiation, low humidity, hi...

Laguna Tebenquiche is one of the largest waterbodies in the Salar de Atacama. The prokaryotic microorganisms inhabiting this lake are subjected to extreme conditions such as high solar radiation due to a lower barometric pressure at high altitude, extreme daily temperature fluctuations, severe changes in salinity caused by net evaporation, and high...

In 2009 the first layered mineral structure of Andean microbial ecosystems was reported in Argentina at Laguna Socompa, followed by Laguna Diamante and Laguna Negra. Since then, extensive prospection has been carried out at the salt flats, lagoons, geysers, and fumaroles in the highlands of the Central Andes at Bolivia’s Altiplano, Argentina’s Puna...

Arsenic is best known as an environmental toxin, but this element could also serve as a metabolic energy source to certain microorganisms. Moreover, As cycling may have driven microbial life on early Earth prior to oxygenation of the atmosphere. Still, little is known about the arsenic cycling processes occurring in the presence of microorganisms a...