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Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.
Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.
EXTREMOPHILE TECHNOLOGY

What are
extremophiles?

Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.

Living microorganisms capable of developing
under extreme conditions, where most living
things would not survive.

More than 3.5 billion years ago in primitive Earth, life was
born without oxygen, in saline alkaline water charged with
arsenic, high UV radiation, and the most extreme conditions
known until today. Living organisms that grew under those
conditions are known as extremophiles able to survive a lack
of nutrients, drought conditions, drastic temperature changes,
high salinity, and high UV radiation.

Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.

PunaBio discovery
process

RESEARCH

The highest salt flats on earth, collecting
samples of the microbial ecosystems that
grow there

IDENTIFY

The key extremophile microorganisms that
promote growth in plants under
stress conditions

EMPOWER

Microorganisms using proprietary
formulas to optimize their capacity
to promote “extreme” yields

VALIDATE

our results following rigorous
on-field testing

01.
RESEARCH
02.
IDENTIFY
03.
EMPOWER
04.
VALIDATE
Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.
Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.
Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.
Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.
Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.
Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.
Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.
Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.

The Andean Extremophiles –
PunaBio’s hidden treasure

La Puna, as it is known in Argentina, is a high-altitude
desert (+ 3500m above sea level) that covers Chile (Atacama),
Bolivia, and Perú (Altiplano). It is full of salt flats,
active volcanoes, saline wetlands, and desert soil.

Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.

It is considered one of the most extreme
places for life in the planet and resembles
the conditions of the primitive Earth that
gave rise to the first living organisms in
the planet: Extremophiles.

In addition, some of the conditions present
in La Puna, such as hypersaline cold soils,
without oxygen, also resemble the known atmosphere
of Mars, which constitutes this place as an
emblematic “lab” for the study of astrobiology
and the origin of life.

Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.
Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.

In recent years, a major breakthrough was
documented with the finding of extremophile
ecosystems called stromatolites in La Puna,
reported in 2009 by the CONICET researcher
and PunaBio Director, María Eugenia Farías.

During the last decade, the renowned biologist and her
research team has worked on the collection, isolation,
characterization and selection of these microorganisms,
gathering a unique strain collection.

Check out her TEDX talk
Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.
Photo: Eugenia Kais

The genetic study of the bacteria from
these environments has led to understanding
how specific genes generate processes that
allow plants to overcome stress conditions,
and those properties can be applied to
other crops.

Bioinsumos del futuro, de fósiles vivientes.

Discover how we apply
extremophileknowledge
to our products