Prokaryotic life has dominated most of the evolutionary history of our planet, evolving to
occupy virtually all available environmental niches. Extremophiles, especially those thriving …

A significant proportion of the Earth's surface is desert or in the process of desertification.
The extreme environmental conditions that characterize these areas result in a surface that …

The arid soils of the Antarctic Dry Valleys constitute some of the oldest, coldest, driest and
most oligotrophic soils on Earth. Early studies suggested that the Dry Valley soils contained …

The ecological drivers of soil biodiversity in the Southern Hemisphere remain
underexplored. Here, in a continental survey comprising 647 sites, across 58 degrees of …

Recent applications of molecular genetics to edaphic microbial communities of the McMurdo
Dry Valleys and elsewhere have rejected a long-held belief that Antarctic soils contain …

The McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are a cold hyperarid polar desert that present
extreme challenges to life. Here, we report a culture-independent survey of multidomain …

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are the largest ice-free region in Antarctica and are critically at risk
from climate change. The terrestrial landscape is dominated by oligotrophic mineral soils …

Airborne microorganisms have been studied for centuries, but the majority of this research
has relied on cultivation-dependent surveys that may not capture all of the microbial diversity …

Although soil‐borne bacteria represent the world's greatest source of biological diversity, it is
not well understood whether extreme environmental conditions, such as those found in …

Microbial communities are an essential part of plant rhizosphere and participate in the
functioning of plants, including rhizoremediation of petroleum contaminants …