Atacama Database

Atacama Database catalogs microbial diversity from the Atacama Desert to support ecological, taxonomic, and genomic analyses.

Key Features:

• Centralized repository: Data are collected, curated, and organized into categories for consolidated access and analysis.
• Organism records: Each record contains classification, isolation metadata, morphology, physiology, genome, and metabolism details.
• Record scope: The database contains 2,302 microorganisms, including cultured and uncultured taxa sampled between 1984 and 2016 across bacterial, archaeal, eukaryotic, and unclassified groups.
• Search functionalities: Basic, taxonomic, and advanced search tools enable identification and comparison of microbial populations and their spatial distribution.
• Geolocation search: Geolocation-based queries provide visualization of microbial diversity across ecological sectors and extraction of sampling site information.

Scientific Applications:

• Microbial ecology: Analysis of population dynamics, seasonal behaviors, and spatial distribution within Atacama ecological niches.
• Climate impact studies: Assessment of potential climate change effects on desert microbial communities.
• Taxonomy and genomics: Support for taxonomic classification and comparative genomic analyses using genome and metadata fields.
• Biotechnological prospecting: Identification of organisms and metabolic traits with potential biotechnological applications.
• Conservation and monitoring: Support for research and conservation efforts through compiled occurrence and site metadata.

Methodology:

Data collection, curation, and organization into categorical records are performed, with geolocation-based visualization and sampling site information extraction provided.