Bacterial Diversity Profiles of Desert Sand and Salt Crusts from the Gran Desierto de Altar, Sonora, Mexico

In the arid expanse of the Gran Desierto de Altar, Mexico, bacterial communities exhibit striking differences between sand dunes and salt crusts. Sand dunes are dominated by Actinobacteriota (30–40%), Proteobacteria (22–27%), Bacteroidota (9–11%), Firmicutes (7–10%), and Chloroflexi (3–6%), while salt crusts show a strong presence of the archaeal phylum Halobacterota (37–58%) alongside Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, and Proteobacteria. This study, employing both culture-dependent and independent methods, including 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing via QIIME2, reveals that microbial diversity in these extreme environments mirrors global arid ecosystems. Notably, bacteria like Metabacillus niabensis, Bacillus subtilis, and Alkalibacillus haloalkaliphilus were isolated from saline media, highlighting their resilience in high-salt conditions.

Ramos-Madrigal, C., Martínez-Romero, E., Tapia-Torres, Y., & Servín-Garcidueñas, L. E. (2024). Bacterial Diversity Profiles of Desert Sand and Salt Crusts from the Gran Desierto de Altar, Sonora, Mexico. Diversity, 16(12), 745. https://doi.org/10.3390/d16120745