What to know

• Antarctic bacteria survive extreme cold and aridity through a communal gene-sharing strategy.
• Microbial communities in frozen Antarctic soils use 'life-support' genes to endure conditions where very little life typically survives.
• This research suggests cooperation and genetic exchange are key to survival in Earth's most extreme environments.

“Antarctica is one of the driest, coldest places on Earth. Very little life survives its extremes. In the soils scattered around the frozen ice sheets, however, communities of microbes do survive.”

Phys.org · Phys.org

Antarctic bacteria communities Subject of research