title: Biotechnological applications derived from microorganisms of the Atacama Desert.
abstract: The Atacama Desert in Chile is well known for being the driest and oldest desert on Earth. For these same reasons, it is also considered a good analog model of the planet Mars. Only a few decades ago, it was thought that this was a sterile place, but in the past years fascinating adaptations have been reported in the members of the three domains of life: low water availability, high UV radiation, high salinity, and other environmental stresses. However, the biotechnological applications derived from the basic understanding and characterization of these species, with the notable exception of copper bioleaching, are still in its infancy, thus offering an immense potential for future development.
authors.affiliation: Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
authors.forename: Armando
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6590-4145
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Azua-Bustos
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación del Medio Ambiente (CENIMA), Universidad Arturo Prat, 1110939 Iquique, Chile.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: González-Silva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D002677:Chile; D003889:Desert Climate; D004777:Environment; D054712:Salinity; D012988:Soil Microbiology