Post by Zoe Freeman, University of Bath

Across the globe, teams of intrepid microbiologists are tirelessly sampling and characterising microbes from strange and exotic lands. Just imagine isolating a new yeast species from Hibiscus flowers in Borneo, or a new bacterium from the sediment of an Arctic lake… Okay, it’s not always that glamorous – another novel bacterium was found on a mouldy indoor wall and a considerable number are from hazardous waste sites. Don’t underestimate these microbes based on their humble origins though! Sometimes organisms flourish in challenging environments for a simple reason – they can utilise unusual substrates as an energy source. That means they might be useful for bioremediation – the use of microbes to safely degrade harmful chemicals into water and harmless gases.