Microbes have been found in all environments on earth explored to date, where they make up more than 60% of all biomass. Microbial diversity deals with the vast array of interesting microscopic life forms with which we share our planet (and perhaps other planets).
We find and describe yeasts, bacteria, archaea and viruses from everyday environments to extreme habitats. Who knows what these amazing organisms can teach us?
VIRAL DIVERSITY
A One Health approach is followed to characterise human and animal rotavirus genomes using a next-generation sequencing pipeline to inform on strain diversity, possible zoonotic events and vaccine effectiveness.
BACTERIAL DIVERSITY
Bacteria play a vital role in life on earth - from the food that you eat to processes on a global ecological scale. Current research at UFS focuses on the diversity and role of bacteria that:
- produce and spoil food
- are involved in natural environmental processes and cycles
- are responsible for the bioremediation of polluted sites
- may be used as biomarkers for specific pollutants.
BIOBANKS SA YEAST CULTURE COLLECTION
The department houses a yeast culture collection of over 3000 yeast isolates from various habitats in South Africa and worldwide. This collection forms part of the core Biobanks SA initiative under the South African Biodiversity Institute and is a national resource for researchers and industries interested in yeast diversity.
Prof Carolina Pohl-Albertyn
Yeast taxonomy
Phenotypic characterisation
PohlCH@ufs.ac.za