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Review
. 2023 Jun 27;11(7):1670.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11071670.

'Follow the Water': Microbial Water Acquisition in Desert Soils

Don A Cowan  1 , S Craig Cary  2 , Jocelyne DiRuggiero  3   4 , Frank Eckardt  5 , Belinda Ferrari  6 , David W Hopkins  7 , Pedro H Lebre  1 , Gillian Maggs-Kölling  8 , Stephen B Pointing  9 , Jean-Baptiste Ramond  1   10 , Dana Tribbia  6 , Kimberley Warren-Rhodes  11
Affiliations
Review

'Follow the Water': Microbial Water Acquisition in Desert Soils

Don A Cowan et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Water availability is the dominant driver of microbial community structure and function in desert soils. However, these habitats typically only receive very infrequent large-scale water inputs (e.g., from precipitation and/or run-off). In light of recent studies, the paradigm that desert soil microorganisms are largely dormant under xeric conditions is questionable. Gene expression profiling of microbial communities in desert soils suggests that many microbial taxa retain some metabolic functionality, even under severely xeric conditions. It, therefore, follows that other, less obvious sources of water may sustain the microbial cellular and community functionality in desert soil niches. Such sources include a range of precipitation and condensation processes, including rainfall, snow, dew, fog, and nocturnal distillation, all of which may vary quantitatively depending on the location and geomorphological characteristics of the desert ecosystem. Other more obscure sources of bioavailable water may include groundwater-derived water vapour, hydrated minerals, and metabolic hydro-genesis. Here, we explore the possible sources of bioavailable water in the context of microbial survival and function in xeric desert soils. With global climate change projected to have profound effects on both hot and cold deserts, we also explore the potential impacts of climate-induced changes in water availability on soil microbiomes in these extreme environments.

Keywords: anhydrobiosis; desert soils; desiccation; hyper-arid; microbiomes; moisture stress; water activity; water availability; xerophily.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Moist surface horizon (approx. 10 mm) from snowmelt (Miers Valley, East Antarctica, January 2012); (b) soil horizon profile, showing dry surface mineral soils, moistened active horizon, and frozen (permafrost) zone (Miers Valley, East Antarctica, January 2008).
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Soil %RH values (Thermochron DS1923 iButtons) across a 20 cm depth profile (Miers Valley, East Antarctica, January 2008; (b) 86 h iButton (Thermochron DS1923) record of % relative humidity values at specified depths in the soil profile (central Namib Desert, GPS S23.61 E15.17, May 2011); (c) temporal variation in soil moisture (%RH) in Atacama Desert soil horizons over a 6-month period, through a major rainfall event (blue arrow). Data from [45].
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Soil %RH values (Thermochron DS1923 iButtons) across a 20 cm depth profile (Miers Valley, East Antarctica, January 2008; (b) 86 h iButton (Thermochron DS1923) record of % relative humidity values at specified depths in the soil profile (central Namib Desert, GPS S23.61 E15.17, May 2011); (c) temporal variation in soil moisture (%RH) in Atacama Desert soil horizons over a 6-month period, through a major rainfall event (blue arrow). Data from [45].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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