Alteration of rocks by endolithic organisms is one of the pathways for the beginning of soils on Earth

Scientific Reports
Nikita MergelovSergey Goryachkin

Abstract

Subaerial endolithic systems of the current extreme environments on Earth provide exclusive insight into emergence and development of soils in the Precambrian when due to various stresses on the surfaces of hard rocks the cryptic niches inside them were much more plausible habitats for organisms than epilithic ones. Using an actualistic approach we demonstrate that transformation of silicate rocks by endolithic organisms is one of the possible pathways for the beginning of soils on Earth. This process led to the formation of soil-like bodies on rocks in situ and contributed to the raise of complexity in subaerial geosystems. Endolithic systems of East Antarctica lack the noise from vascular plants and are among the best available natural models to explore organo-mineral interactions of a very old "phylogenetic age" (cyanobacteria-to-mineral, fungi-to-mineral, lichen-to-mineral). On the basis of our case study from East Antarctica we demonstrate that relatively simple endolithic systems of microbial and/or cryptogamic origin that exist and replicate on Earth over geological time scales employ the principles of organic matter stabilization strikingly similar to those known for modern full-scale soils of various climates.

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Citations

Nov 16, 2019·FEMS Microbiology Ecology·Alfonso EspositoEngy Ahmed
Nov 25, 2020·Mycologia·Claudia ColeineLaura Selbmann
Jan 28, 2021·Microorganisms·Steffi GenderjahnDirk Wagner
Mar 21, 2021·Microbiome·Davide AlbaneseClaudio Donati
Sep 30, 2021·Extremophiles : Life Under Extreme Conditions·Alessia CassaroSilvano Onofri

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
chemical treatments
NMR
optical microscopy
X-ray

Software Mentioned

NanoSIMS

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