Microbial diversity of nitrate deposit northern Chile

This project proposes to investigate the microbial communities in salines facies of deposits known exclusively in northern Chile. Considering the wide variety of these deposits specific sites have been selected. The main aims of the project are: to investigate the diversity and activity of nitrate and perchlorate reducing bacteria in selected saline units (facies) in Northern Chile; to characterize the microbial communities in which they are found; and to correlate the geochemical and mineralogical composition of the facies with the corresponding microbial community profiles.