Rare earth elements (REEs) are critical raw materials that are urgently needed for many technological applications. Hitherto undiscovered microbes and their enzymes have a great potential to be used in biomining of these REEs. The “ICE-FISHING” project aims to expand the world of REE-utilizing microorganisms and enzymes through a unique combination of i) bioinformatic mining of microbial dark matter, ii) in-depth screening of microbial culture collections, iii) selective “fishing” of desirable microbes, enzymes or physiological traits from cold-climate environmental samples, iv) in situ cultivation techniques to allow for cultivation of yet uncultivated microbial REE utilizers, and v) subsequent description of novel REE-utilizing strains.

2024