Group for Aquatic Microbial Ecology, Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
Dirk Schulze-Makuch
Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Michael Schloter
Research Unit for Comparative Microbiome Analysis, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Oberschleißheim, Germany
Group for Aquatic Microbial Ecology, Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
Deserts are one of the largest and rapidly expanding terrestrial ecosystems characterized by low biodiversity and biomass. The hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert, previously thought to be devoid of life, is one of the harshest environments, supporting only scant biomass of highly adapted microbes.
