Onsite microbiome analysis of stromatolite-like silica structures in a remote cave with astrobiological interests

In this work, we developed, applied and validated on-site microbiological procedures to study the extraordinary silica stromatolite-like structures in an orthoquartzite cave on venezuelan tepuis. The results prove them as promising terrestrial astrobiological analogues, validate the feasibility of real-time microbial analyses in remote caves and provide novel understanding on the microbiological aspects involved in the formation of silica stromatolites in non-thermal and aphotic environments.