Objectives

The main objective of the project MYXOTROPIC, in its sixth phase, is to study the Andean salt flats of Bolivia, Argentina and Chile, an extensive area that remains unexplored for these microorganisms.

The specific objectives are:

  • To carry out the first systematic sampling of this territory.

  • To search for Myxomycetes and Arcellinida in their natural habitat, and to complement this fieldwork with the laboratory culture of substrates collected in the field, to detect microscopic species.

  • To build the first reference myxomycete and arcellinida collection of the area.

  • To prepare the first catalogue of their biodiversity.

  • To study, describe and illustrate previously unknown species.

  • To germinate and culture certain species, on defined media, to observe their life cycle.

  • To observe the morphogenesis of species and their resistant forms, and in some cases complement the taxonomic information with DNA sequencing.

  • To reveal community composition in certain microhabitats analyze species-substrate relationships and study the effects of environmental parameters.

  • To examine species distribution patterns.

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