Current

A Living Atlas of California’s Belowground Microbial Biodiversity

Soils are Earth's most biodiverse habitats, with a single gram potentially containing up to 10,000 unique bacterial taxa. Despite this richness, only about 500 of these taxa are abundant globally, and even fewer have been studied in detail. Supported by the California Institute for Biodiversity, we're applying high-throughput cultivation approaches to diverse soils collected across California. Our goal is to isolate new microbes and preserve them in perpetuity, similar to a seed bank, ensuring their utility in a changing world.

Project Lead: Dr. Vivianna Sanchez

Biology of Death-Cheating Microbes

Microbes in sediments are critical mediators of global nutrient cycles and carbon sequestration, yet most aren't actively dividing due to limited resources. These microbes exist in extremely slow growth states that are physiologically distinct from exponentially growing cells. In collaboration with the Simons Foundation, we're applying systems microbial ecology to advance understanding of ecological interactions in the deep biosphere and how they're regulated under low-energy conditions.

Project Leads: Caitlin Tribelhorn, Dr. Oona Snoeyenbos-West

RNA Stability in Desiccated Cells

Dryland soil microbes persist through desiccation by entering dormancy states that are poorly understood. Through an NSF CAREER award, we're investigating different groups of bacteria and their survival mechanisms during desiccation, with emphasis on understanding the fate of intracellular RNA. This project aims to understand how soil bacteria that mediate carbon cycling and agricultural health survive in drylands. The research engages students in authentic research on drought—a topic of global significance—while providing valuable mentorship training and opportunities that build technical skills and scientific experience.

Project Leads: Adriana Gomez-Buckley, Dr. Jorge Montiel Molina

The Arizona Culture Collection (AZCC)

We initiated the AZCC in 2017 to preserve microbial isolates from our laboratory work. This collection comprises bacterial and archaeal cultures isolated from sites worldwide, with a special focus on the American West. Each isolate is cryopreserved for future research potential. Since its inception, just about every lab member has contributed to the collection—we all find culturing microbes from the environment not only important but genuinely magical, fun, and exciting! When screening new isolates, we assign AZCC strain numbers and make these available upon request. While we strive to maintain viability post-cryopreservation, some strains may be difficult to recover, so we limit distribution quantities.