Page 35 - University of Pretoria RESEARCH REVIEW 2018

McMurdo Dry Valleys
Antarctica. Over the past two decades, several international teams have provided fundamental insights into the effects of harsh microclimatic conditions on the diversity of microbiomes. Yet, relatively little
is known about the functions that these microorganisms perform. In their recent work, CMEG researchers have pioneered studies aimed at understanding antibiotic production and resistance in remote and pristine Antarctic soils. In a paper published in Microbiome, the team demonstrated that antibiotic-resistance genes in these remote and uncontaminated soils most likely represent genes
with a functional history that may have been inherited over several generations. The researchers relied on contemporary methods where DNA from environmental samples is extracted and sequenced without the requirement for laboratory culturing.
This approach, called metagenomics, generates several hundred gigabytes of sequence data. Such quantities
are analogous to mega-size jigsaw puzzles (with a limited colour palette), that require algorithms to reconstruct the fragmented data representing microbial communities and functional genes.
CMEG researchers are increasingly using computational biology methods to understand the roles played by microbial communities in providing essential ecosystem services.
In 2018, Dr Thulani Makhalanyane was elected to the board of the International Society of Microbial Ecology (ISME) for a four-year term. At 35, he is the youngest and the first African to have joined this esteemed Board of Directors.
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