Antarctic Soils
Antarctic soil microbes inhabit extremely arid, cold, and salty conditions, making them unique when compared to nearly any other known soil community. Fungi are common across ice free regions of Antarctica and are sometimes found in particularly challenging soil environments where bacteria and archaea are not detected. We are building a culture collection of fungal and bacterial isolates from archived Antarctic soils which will represent the broadest geographical and environmental conditions sampled on the continent thus far. Our study highlights fungal genera such as Pseudogymnoascus and Rachicladosporium. As we explore how these highly variable soils differ in fungal and bacterial community composition we will greatly expand the current understanding of the diversity and distribution of microbes found across Antarctic soils.
Photo Credits:
Mary Childress
Mary Childress
October 2023 Update!
Mary recently finished the culturing, extracting and sequencing portion of this project! See below for a culture construction she made before discarding the finished plates!
Mary recently finished the culturing, extracting and sequencing portion of this project! See below for a culture construction she made before discarding the finished plates!
Photo Credits:
Mary Childress
Mary Childress