Micro-Eukaryotic diversity in Hypolithons from Miers Valley, Antarctica
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Date
2013Author
Gokul, Jarishma K.
Valverde, Angel
Tuffin, Marla
Cary, Stephen Craig
Cowan, Donald A.
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The discovery of extensive and complex hypolithic communities in both cold and hot deserts has raised many questions regarding their ecology, biodiversity and relevance in terms of regional productivity. However, most hypolithic research has focused on the bacterial elements of the community. This study represents the first investigation of
micro-eukaryotic communities in all three hypolith types. Here we show that Antarctic
hypoliths support extensive populations of novel uncharacterized bryophyta, fungi and
protists and suggest that well known producer-decomposer-predator interactions may
create the necessary conditions for hypolithic productivity in Antarctic deserts.