7th Marine Functional Biology Group Seminar

DATE

2018/10/01 15:30-

PLACE

Yokosuka (HQ)

TITLE

"Microbial ecology of arid environments"

SPEAKER

Dr. Thulani P. Makhalanyane (Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Microbiology, University of Pretoria)

HOST

Takuro Nunoura (R&D Center for Marine Biosciences)

ABSTRACT

A substantial body of research has provided insights regarding the role played by microbial communities in regulating ecosystem services across several ecosystems globally. Yet, in hot and cold desert environments comparatively very little is known regarding their diversity and functional capacity. The past decade has seen a paradigm shift in our understanding of microbial communities in hot and cold environments. Here I will provide an overview of our research, which has advanced our understanding of community structure and function of Antarctic and Namib microbial communities. Our results have provided substantial insights regarding microbial community dynamics such as successional development and the food web structure of niche desert communities. In this presentation, I will provide a synthesis of our work in extreme environments and provide an overview of future microbiomics activities.

REFERENCES

• Makhalanyane, T.P., Valverde, A., Gunnigle, E., Frossard, A., Ramond, J.B.FEMS microbiology reviews, 39(2), pp.203-221.
• Makhalanyane, T.P., Valverde, A., Birkeland, N.K., Cary, S.C., Tuffin,The ISME journal, 7(11), p.2080.
• Van Goethem, M.W., Pierneef, R., Bezuidt, O.K., Van De Peer, Y., Cowan,Microbiome, 6(1), p.40.