Antarctica is the highest, driest, and coldest continent on Earth. Its characteristics make it inhospitable to most multicellular life forms, however, microbes are present in every niche, from underwater lakes to the roots of the two native vascular plants in Antarctica, Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis. In this area of research, we are currently working on two interrelated projects.
Origin of Antarctic rhizosphere. In the first project, we want to understand what’s the origin of the rhizosphere of these two plant species, what are the genetic functions they encode, and whether they provide any services to the plants.