Soil cyanobacteria of the Atacama Desert, Chile
 Drs. Johansen and Martin recently received funding from the NationalScience Foundation to studythecyanobacteria of the Atacama Desert in Chile. The grant for $400,000 will support graduate students and summer undergraduate research interns to conduct research on the cyanobacteria. Research opportunities include microscopical study under Dr. Johansen’s supervision and molecular systematics of the isolates under Dr. Martin’s supervision, and will last three years. Dr. Johansen and one student will travel to Chile in May-June 2009. The project also includes funds for student travel to regional meetings, as well as for travel to bring a Chilean Scientist to John Carroll to study in Dr. Johansen’s laboratory.
Summary of the Research Plan
A team of researchers will travel the entire length and breadth of the Atacama Desert in Chile to sample soils for analysis of the cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). Soil cyanobacteria are critically important in many deserts because they help prevent soil erosion. The Atacama is one of the driest and harshest environments on the planet. We will use a combination of microbial and molecular methods to find the majority of species in the soils of this region. This is a significant biodiversity project, as the extremity of the environment means that most of the species we isolate and describe will likely be new to science. Since the cultures will be deposited in public repositories, they will be available for further research and technology development. New taxa will be described when they meet the criteria of the phylogenetic species concept, a modern approach to the recognition of biodiversity.
The project will facilitate collaboration between two North American universities, two Chilean Universities, and a German University. At least two graduate students will be supported by this project. Six undergraduate summer fellowships are included, as well as support for two high school students to conduct summer research. Cyanobacteria and soils from this project will be incorporated into science laboratories in an existing outreach program to Hispanic middle school children in Cleveland, Ohio. We will contribute to several public research depositories, including the Culture Collection of Algae at the University of Texas at Austin, the Herbarium for Nonvascular Cryptogams at BYU, the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural in Chile, the Culture Collection of Algae at the University of Göttingen, Germany, and GenBank, a repository for DNA sequence data. Educational and research websites will be include images and descriptions of all species collected.
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