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Research Areas

Environmental microbiology; Extremophiles; Planetary health

Research Interests

The Pointing Lab’s mission is to improve understanding and application of microorganisms that thrive in extreme environments. The central theme that binds our research projects is a focus on photosynthetic microbial communities. Current projects address biogeography, functional adaptation to stress, and transformation of anthropogenic compounds in diverse marine and terrestrial extreme environments.

Selected Publications

For a full publication list please visit Google Scholar. Some representative publications are listed below:

1. Archer SDJ, Lee KC, Caruso T et al. & Pointing SB (2023) Contribution of soil bacteria to the atmosphere across biomes. Science of the Total Environment, 871, 162137.

2. Amato P, Casamayor EI, Lee PKH, Santl-Temkiv T, Pointing SB (2022) Microbial ecology of the atmosphere. FEMS Microbiology Reviews doi:10.1093/femsre/fuac009.

3. Archer SDJ, Lee KC, King-Miaow K, Harvey M, Wainwright B, Huang D, Pointing SB (2020) Air mass source determines airborne microbial diversity at the ocean-atmosphere interface of the Great Barrier Reef marine ecosystem. The ISME Journal 14, 871-876.

4. Archer SDJ, Lee KC, Maki T, Lee CK, Cary SC, Cowan DA, Maestre FT, Pointing SB (2019) Airborne microbial transport limitation to isolated Antarctic soil habitats. Nature Microbiology 4, 925-932.

5. Chan Y, van Nostrand J, Zhou J, Pointing SB, Farrell RL (2013) Functional ecology of an Antarctic dry valley. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 110, 8990-8995.

6. Pointing SB and Belnap J (2012) Microbial colonization and controls in dryland systems. Nature Reviews Microbiology 10, 551-562.

7. Bahl J, Lau MCY, Smith GJD, Dhanasekeran V, Cary SC, Lacap DC, Lee CK, Papke RT, Warren-Rhodes KA, Wong FKY, McKay CP, Pointing SB (2011) Ancient origins determine global biogeography of hot and cold desert cyanobacteria. Nature Communications 2, 163.

8. Caruso T, Chan Y, Lacap DC, McKay CP, Pointing SB (2011) Stochastic and deterministic processes interact to determine global biogeography of arid soil bacteria. The ISME Journal 5, 1406-1413.

9. Pointing SB, Chan Y, Lacap DC, Lau MCY, Jurgens J, Farrell RL (2009) Highly specialized microbial diversity in hyper-arid polar desert. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106, 19964-19969.

10. Lacap DC, Barraquio W, Pointing SB (2007) Thermophilic microbial mats in a tropical geothermal location display pronounced seasonal changes but appear resilient to stochastic disturbance. Environmental Microbiology 9, 3065-3076.

11. Lau CY, Jing H, Aitchison JC, Pointing SB (2006) Highly diverse community structure in a remote central Tibetan geothermal spring does not display monotonic variation to thermal stress. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 57, 80-91.

12. Jing H, Aitchison JC, Lacap DC, Peerapornpisal Y, Sompong U, Pointing SB (2005) Community phylogenetic analysis of moderately thermophilic cyanobacterial mats from China, the Philippines and Thailand. Extremophiles 9, 325-332.

13. Bucher VVC, Hyde KD, Pointing SB, Reddy CA (2004). Production of wood decay enzymes, loss of mass and lignin solubilization in wood by marine ascomycetes and their anamorphs. Fungal Diversity 15, 1-14.

14. Pointing SB (2001). Feasibility of bioremediation using white-rot fungi. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 57, 20-33.

15. Hyde KD, Jones EBG, Leano E, Pointing SB, Poonyth AD, Vrijmoed LLP (1998). Role of fungi in marine ecosystems. Biodiversity and Conservation 7, 1147-1161.