Hypolithic and soil microbial community assembly along an aridity gradient in the Namib Desert (original) (raw)

“…Hypolithic biofilms are distinct from the bacterial communities in surrounding soil (Pointing et al, 2009; Stomeo et al, 2013), although evidence suggests hypolithic biofilms are recruited at least in part from surrounding soil communities (Makhalanyane et al, 2012; Wei et al, 2016). In this study we have shown that desert hypolithic communities comprised just five main bacterial phyla with an extended ‘tail’ of taxa comprising less than 1% each of the overall community.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

“…Hypolithic biofilms are distinct from the bacterial communities in surrounding soil (Pointing et al, 2009; Stomeo et al, 2013), although evidence suggests hypolithic biofilms are recruited at least in part from surrounding soil communities (Makhalanyane et al, 2012; Wei et al, 2016). In this study we have shown that desert hypolithic communities comprised just five main bacterial phyla with an extended ‘tail’ of taxa comprising less than 1% each of the overall community.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

“…An inverse fog-rainfall gradient has been shown to significantly contribute to the spatial composition and community structure of open surface soil and rock-associated (hypolith) microbial communities (12). However, the extent of extracellular viral diversity remains unknown.…”

Section: Genome Announcementmentioning

“…This has been demonstrated for key edaphic bacterial phyla, such as Proteobacteria43, Actinobacteria44 and Cyanobacteria23. In coastal deserts, such as the Namib and Atacama Deserts, moisture inputs such as fog and dew precipitation are fundamental in sustaining hot desert insect and plant populations4546, as well as microbial communities4748495051. Fog events can occur when the water vapor concentration in the atmosphere reaches saturation, i.e., 100% relative humidity (RH)52.…”

mentioning