On November 1, 2024, the Antartic-ome project (Human microbiome transmission in the extreme confined built environment of Antarctica) will commence at the Mario Zucchelli Antarctic Station. The project aims to study horizontal transmission of the human microbiome in a controlled, extreme environment. This unique study will combine biotechnological and ethnographic approaches to explore the influence of social interactions on the acquisition of human-associated microorganisms and their potential impact on health. Funded under the Italian National Antarctic Research Program, the two-year project is a collaboration between the Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology at the University of Trento, the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and the Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences at the University of Tuscia.
Objectives:
The Antartic-ome project seeks to answer key questions: How and to what extent are non-pathogenic microorganisms transmitted within the human microbiome? Do some microorganisms spread more easily than others? The microbiome is the ecological community of microbes living in and around humans, and while its importance for human biology has been well established—evident in applications such as probiotics and fecal transplantation—the mechanisms governing its acquisition, transmission, and remodeling over time remain poorly understood. Preliminary studies suggest that the microbial landscape is more dynamic than previously thought, potentially shaped by social and environmental factors. This horizontal transmission may play a role in individual well-being or the emergence of diseases. “The data collected in the Antartic-ome project,” explains Nicola Segata, the project’s scientific coordinator and head of the Computational Metagenomics Lab at the University of Trento, “could provide valuable insights into the relationship between social interaction and microbiome transmission, paving the way for new hypotheses about the microbiome’s link to non-communicable diseases and how they may be addressed.”
The project’s findings will contribute significantly to understanding microbiome transmission dynamics and how they are influenced by environmental factors and lifestyle. This knowledge will be crucial for improving life quality, health, and well-being. Furthermore, the research could have important implications for other areas, such as long-duration space missions, where alterations in microbial landscapes between individuals could be critical. “From a methodological perspective,” adds Federica Pinto, project manager at the Computational Metagenomics Lab, “the integration of disciplines like microbiology, bacterial genetics, anthropology, and bioinformatics allows us to grasp the complexity of the mechanisms underlying human health.”
Innovation:
Elena Bougleux, a member of the research unit from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and associate professor of cultural anthropology at the University of Bergamo, will lead the research efforts. She will remain at the Zucchelli Station throughout the Antarctic research season (November 2024 to February 2025), collecting human microbiome samples in this extreme, isolated environment. These samples will undergo sequencing and metagenomic analysis at the University of Trento’s Computational Metagenomics Lab, in collaboration with the University of Tuscia. Bougleux’s work will be complemented by anthropological analysis based on ethnographic data she collects. The researchers will also focus on the social relationships among those stationed in Antarctica, examining their lifestyle, interactions, and group culture to assess how these dynamics influence microbiome transmission and exchange. The challenge lies in reconciling the computational analysis of genomic data with the qualitative, observational methods of ethnographic research.
This multidisciplinary approach, unique to the Antartic-ome project, recognizes that social variables play an equally important role as environmental and biological factors in describing the complexity of human microbiome transmissibility. “It will be crucial,” says Bougleux, “to integrate metagenomics with an anthropological approach to trace and model microbiome transmission across different social networks and interactions.” Roberta Raffaetà, who will coordinate the anthropological aspect of the project, adds, “This is an innovative experiment. The research station is a microcosm of any social community and thus a controlled environment in which we can observe how qualitative data interacts with quantitative data to provide an integrated response. It is one of the first interdisciplinary experiments of this scale conducted in such an extreme environment.”
Methodology:
Antarctica, as an extreme, confined, and isolated environment with controlled social dynamics and limited environmental variability, offers an ideal setting for exploring human microbiome transmission. Over five months, Bougleux will follow the researchers at the station, collecting samples from their gut, oral, and skin microbiomes before, during, and after the research campaign. She will also monitor their diets and group lifestyle to investigate how microbial communities evolve over time and are influenced by shared spaces and routines. “The station hosts around 90 people: 30 permanent technicians who will stay from October to February,” explains Bougleux, “and several waves of researchers, each consisting of about 30 people, staying for one or two months. Planning the sample collection will be particularly complex due to the work schedules and the varying presence and overlap of participants.”
Research Team:
The research team includes experts in microbiology, bacterial genetics, anthropology, and bioinformatics. The scientific coordination of the project is led by Nicola Segata and Federica Pinto from the University of Trento. Participating institutions include Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (with Roberta Raffaetà), the University of Tuscia (with Claudia Coleine, Federico Biagioli, Caterina Ripa, and Laura Selbmann), and the University of Bergamo (with Elena Bougleux).