First record of multicellular filamentous benthic bacteria from freshwater lagoons in central Chile

Abstract

Observations on “macrobacteria” inhabiting the reduced bottoms of two freshwater lagoons in central Chile are here presented. The new finding of morphologically diverse, colorless multicellular filamentous bacteria expands their known presence into Chilean continental freshwater environments and confirms their association with reduced habitats. Their morphologies and ecology appear to connect them to similar benthic marine findings and Precambrian microfossils, encouraging their exploration in similar systems around the world and guiding the search for biosignatures in extraterrestrial paleoenvironments.