The Southwest Atlantic Ocean (SAO) has one of the largest and most productive continental shelves of the World, notwithstanding which microbiological studies of this region are rather scarce. Likewise, the majority of Continental Patagonian (CP) lakes, rivers and other water bodies remain as pristine as microbiologically unstudied. This project constitutes an initiative aimed to contribute to surveying, systematizing and understanding the dynamics (i.e. ecology and evolution) of microbial communities from this region.