The ability to perform metagenomic techniques on samples collected from novel sample types demands high performance reagents and techniques not commonly used in most labs today. The Extreme Microbiome Project was established in 2015 to develop novel sampling and DNA sequencing protocols for both routine samples as well as the most difficult. Samples have been collected and sequenced from around the world including, soil, sea and fresh water, air, deep ocean, thermophilic, halophilic, acidic, and alkaline ecosystems from locations such as Greenland, Antarctica, the Red Sea, Romanian sulfur caves, and the International Space Station. Techniques including novel concentrating devices, high performance lysis enzymes, ultra-low biomass handling, biofilm disrupting, and working with high host background from eukaryotic organisms have all been applied.  In all cases, DNA, RNA, and PCR amplicon sequencing are performed using a combination of short and long-read technologies including  llumina, Singular G4, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies for characterizing  functional and taxonomic features as well as MAG assembly of dark matter.

About the Presenter

Scott Tighe is currently technical director of the University of Vermont Genomics Facility and has expertise in all areas of genomics and microbiology including next generation sequencing (Illumina, Singular G4, and Oxford Nanopore MinION, GridION, and PromethION instrument), Sanger sequencing, PCR (PCR, RTqPCR, ddPCR), single cell analysis, flow cytometry, metagenomics, microbiome, biophotonics, and biomolecular detection of ultra low biomass nucleic acids in the environment. Scott first began working in microbiology in 1985 at Northern Arizona University and currently has over 200 manuscripts and presentations in molecular and environmental science both nationally and internationally. He is currently Chair of the ABRF Metagenomics Research Group and Extreme Microbiome Project (XMP), co-leader of the International Metagenomics and Microbiome Standards Alliance at NIST,  Board member of the Genomics Standards Consortium, and developer the NASA uTitan payload deployed to the International Space Station to study DNA extractions in zero-gravity.