Genome analysis of Antarctica bacteria

The fumarolic ice caves near the summit of Mt. Erebus, a volcano on Ross Island, Antarctica (elevation 3,794 m), are one of the most remote dark oligotrophic volcanic ecosystems on Earth, with minimal human-derived contamination. The ice caves, consisting of volcanic rock and weathered sediments, provide a unique ecosystem of dark, volcanic, alpine, extreme oligotrophic, with volcanic gases circulating through the air layer from the vent under the glacier. We isolated and cultivated previously uncultured bacteria from the fumarolic ice caves. To provide additional insights into their metabolites and ecological rules, we are sequencing their genomes.