Abstract: Microbial EcoGenomics and Biotechnology Laboratory, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia.

Cold or hot deserts and volcanic environments are part of the essence of Saudi Arabia and Antarctica. The microbial community that thrives under extreme conditions is underexplored and its potential for application in biotechnology remains hidden. The push towards greener chemistry and less impactful production in industrial processes requires enzymes that can withstand harsh industrial conditions, for example high or low temperatures, pH and pressure. Regarding Saudi extreme soils, for example, there is a huge potential for bioprospecting the extreme Red Sea mangroves, Al Ula desert soil and Al Wahbah volcanic Crater, one of the volcanic sites in Saudi Arabia with highly saline soils (Sodium-23-59 g/kg).On the other hand, Antarctica is also a mosaic of extremes that contains cold deserts and active polar volcanoes, such as Deception Island, a marine stratovolcano with remarkable temperature gradients over very short distances, with temperatures approaching 100°C of fumaroles and sub-zero temperatures observed in glaciers. Here I will present the utilization of metagenomics and cultivation-based framework to describe diversity and function as well biotechnological potential of non-culturable microbes from these two very different extreme sites. Altogether, our data provides insights into the metabolic potential of microbes from Saudi Arabia and Antarctica's extreme environments with great potential for oil industry and other biotechnological applications.

Bio: Professor of Bioscience at KAUST. Former Full Professor at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and Visiting Professor at the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California - Davis, USA. Director of the Institute of Microbiology (2010-2014) and Vice-President of the Brazilian Society of Microbiology (2011-2014); holds a BSc in Biological Sciences, MSc (Microbiology), PhD in Microbiology from UFRJ and Wageningen University & Research (WUR), The Netherlands. Associate editor: Journal of Microbiological Methods, Frontiers in Microbiology (Review editor). BMC Microbiology, Brazilian Journal of Microbiology (BJM) and International Journal of Biodiversity. His background is on environmental microbiology, with focus on molecular microbial ecology, microbiome sciences and biotechnology.

Abstract: Microbial EcoGenomics and Biotechnology Laboratory, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia. 

Cold or hot deserts and volcanic environments are part of the essence of Saudi Arabia and Antarctica. The microbial community that thrives under extreme conditions is underexplored and its potential for application in biotechnology remains hidden.The push towards greener chemistry and less impactful production in industrial processes requires enzymes that can withstand harsh industrial conditions, for example high or low temperatures, pH and pressure.  Regarding Saudi extreme soils, for example, there is a huge potential for bioprospecting the extreme Red Sea mangroves, Al Ula desert soil and Al Wahbah volcanic Crater, one of the volcanic sites in Saudi Arabia with highly saline soils (Sodium-23-59 g/kg).On the other hand, Antarctica is also a mosaic of extremes that contains cold deserts and active polar volcanoes, such as Deception Island, a marine stratovolcano with remarkable temperature gradients over very short distances, with temperatures approaching 100°C of fumaroles and sub-zero temperatures observed in glaciers. Here I will present the utilization of metagenomics and cultivation-based framework to describe diversity and function as well biotechnological potential of non-culturable microbes from these two very different extreme sites.  Altogether, our data provides insights into the metabolic potential of microbes from Saudi Arabia and Antarctica's extreme environments with great potential for oil industry and other biotechnological applications.