Biofilms, microbial mats, microbialites and endoevaporites in Salar de Atacama lakes and wetlands

The aim of this study is to expand our knowledge of the AMEs in the Salar de Atacama and consequently, in the Central Andes. To fulfil this objective, first, we identified novel microbial ecosystems (biofilms, microbial mats, microbialites and endoevaporites) in different hypersaline lakes and wetlands from Salar de Atacama, and then we analyzed the composition of their mineral phase and microbiota. Finally, we performed comparative analyses of the data to determine if there was a correlation between these features.