NSF backs research collaboration to sequence Antarctic genomes

September 29, 2026
by Alexander Rony

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $18.4 million to a group of scientists producing an extensive genetic database of Antarctic lifeforms. More than 250 Antarctic species’ genomes will be sequenced, including algae, mosses, invertebrates, birds, fish, and marine mammals. Scientists will also gather and sequence around 600 ecosystem samples representing tens of thousands of microbial and viral genomic datasets. 

UC Berkeley integrative biology professor Rauri Bowie will serve as a co-principal investigator of the initiative, building on his penguin research and his role as curator in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. He will lead the selection of bird, fish, and invertebrate species to be sampled. Bowie will also work on database design and the development and implementation of new AI and machine-learning tools. 

“We expect to open the door to a wealth of new discoveries and provide fundamental insights into the genetic basis of life in one of Earth’s most extreme environments,” said Bowie.

“This NSF-funded project will transform our understanding of Antarctic life by combining cutting-edge sequencing, genome assembly, and annotation of hundreds of genomes with AI-guided computing and interoperable databases to create an unprecedented resource for Antarctic biodiversity research,” continued Bowie. “By bringing newly generated genomic data together with existing data in a single Antarctic data portal, we will uncover hidden biodiversity, identify the genetic and biochemical innovations that allow organisms to survive in extreme cold environments, and reveal how populations remain resilient and evolve across Antarctica’s diverse habitats.”

Despite its global significance, Antarctica remains one of the least explored biological frontiers on Earth. Fewer than 2 percent of known Antarctic terrestrial species have had their genomes sequenced. The gap is even more extreme for Antarctic marine species, where genomic data exist for less than 1% of recognized species, leaving the vast majority of Antarctic biodiversity genetically unexplored.

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A fluffy brown king penguin chick with its black/yellow/white parent and another adult penguin stretching its head upwards
A king penguin with its chick and a stretchy adult
Photo by Keith Barnes

Genomic analyses, particularly with fishes and fungi, have yielded discoveries of extraordinary significance. Adaptations such as antifreeze glycoproteins and hemoglobin-free red blood cells reshaped our understanding of life at the limits and underpin transformative technologies, including new approaches to aircraft de-icing. These breakthroughs represent only a glimpse of what Antarctica’s extreme biota has to offer. 

The Antarctic GIGA-DATA Initiative is an ambitious effort to transform our understanding of life in Earth’s most extreme environment. The project will generate petabytes of genomic data, process them using advanced high-performance computing and AI-driven bioinformatics, and make these resources openly available through an intelligent data portal.

The research team contains expertise in the latest developments in genome sequencing, bioinformatic cyberinfrastructure, Antarctic physiology, and ecosystem function. Alison Murray, a molecular microbial ecologist and biological oceanographer at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) with 16 Antarctic field seasons under her belt, will lead the collaboration. Other team members hail from Arizona State University, the University of Connecticut, the New Mexico Consortium, and University of Nevada, Las Vegas. 

“Our project has the potential to transform international ecosystem science and biological modeling by advancing basic research into the rules of life,” said Murray. “The data will catalyze biodiscovery, biotechnology and the bioeconomy through unlocking the reservoir of Antarctic genome information and advancing our knowledge of the diversity of mechanisms underlying cold adaptation across the tree of life.”

Antarctic organisms evolved to persist under extreme conditions lethal to most life on Earth: months of continuous light followed by darkness, subzero desiccating winds, and the isolation of subglacial lakes sealed for millennia. Their genomes represent an extraordinary frontier for discovery, containing the signatures of adaptations that have enabled life to persist in some of the planet’s most challenging environments. Exploring this genomic diversity will allow researchers to identify the genetic basis of resilience to extreme and rapidly changing conditions and reveal fundamental principles governing how organisms adapt to environmental change across daily, seasonal, and evolutionary timescales.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. 2535692. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. 

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A man stands smiling in the middle of a lush forest
Rauri Bowie in the Indonesian rainforest
Photo courtesy of Rauri Bowie