African dust over the Atlantic Ocean, by Nasa 2014
The Dustosphere
Dust events or sandstorms can distribute particles over vast distances and with them, different types of microbes such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Survival is a challenge for these microbes under extreme dust conditions, that may last for several days (and up to weeks).
Our studies explore their unique properties allowing their survival under the extreme atmospheric conditions.
By studying these dust-optimized bacteria we hope to better understand their unique survival strategies, including the production of previously unknown antibiotics, and storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide by mineralization, potentially impacting this way on the global carbon cycle.
