The Salar was formed as a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes that existed around forty thousand years ago but had all evaporated over time. It is in the Daniel Campos Province in Potosí in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes at an elevation of 3,656 m (11,995 ft) above sea level. The work was supported by NASA Astrobiology through the Exobiology Program.Salar de Uyuni (or "Salar de Tunupa") is the world's largest salt flat, or playa, at over 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi) in area. The study, “Complete Genome Sequence and Methylome Analysis of Micrococcus luteus SA211, a Halophilic, Lithium-Tolerant Actinobacterium from Argentina,” was published in the journal Microbiology Resource Announcements. This research is used to inform how and where future missions might search for signs of past or present life beyond Earth. Studying microorganisms that thrive in harsh environments on Earth, including high salt concentrations, can help astrobiologists understand the mechanisms that life might use to survive on other worlds in our solar system. The strain used in the study, Micrococcus luteus SA211, originates from the Salar del Hombre Muerto, a hypersaline, lithium-rich, high-altitude salt flat in northwestern Argentina. Members of the phylum Actinobacteria are found in a wide range of terrestrial and aquatic habitats, including air, soil, and in humans. Astrobiologists working in Argentina have reported the complete genome sequence and methylome analysis of a halophilic (‘salt-loving’), lithium-tolerant Actinobacterium.
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