sp. nov. and sp. nov., two siderophore-producing organisms isolated from high-altitude salars of the Atacama Desert.

Introduction: This study aimed to identify and characterize novel siderophore-producing organisms capable of secreting high quantities of the iron-binding compounds. In the course of this, two not yet reported halophilic strains designated ATCHA and ATCH28 were isolated from hypersaline, alkaline surface waters of Salar de Llamará and Laguna Lejía, respectively. The alkaline environment limits iron bioavailability, suggesting that native organisms produce abundant siderophores to sequester iron.

Associations between bacterial communities and microplastics from surface seawater of the Northern Patagonian area of Chile.

The presence of microplastics in oceans and coastlines has increased during recent years due anthropogenic activities and represents a serious environmental problem. The establishment and assembly of microbial communities in these microplastics, specifically located near aquaculture activities, is not well understood. In this study, we analyzed unique and core members of bacterial communities attached to microplastics collected from three coastal environments of the South Pacific, which represent low, medium and high anthropogenic activity derived from the aquaculture industry.