SCELSE-NTU researchers Dr Jeslyn Poo and Dr Yvonne Hii have embarked on a landmark expedition aboard the state-of-the-art OceanXplorer, joining the National University of Singapore-led team to study the Christmas Island Seamount Province in the eastern Indian Ocean over 24 days.

“Deep-sea microbes play a critical role in ocean carbon storage and climate regulation,” said Assoc Prof Janelle Thompson, supervisor to SCELSE-NTU researcher Dr Jeslyn Poo.

Dr Poo will focus on the biodiversity and microbial ecology of these little-known seamounts — characterising microbial community dynamics, functional potential, and particle export processes across ocean depths using 16S amplicon and metagenome sequencing.

Dr Yvonne Hii, supervised by Dr Stephen Summers, will investigate microbes with biotechnological potential — enriching deep-sea microbes for hydrocarbon, heavy metal and plastic degradation, identifying methanotrophs and chemolithoautotrophs for sustainable biomanufacturing, and analysing the “plastisphere” of microbes colonising deep-sea plastics.

The 21-member research team included scientists from the NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute and the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, in addition to researchers from NTU, as well as from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Fiji.

Watch the video of the official launch of the NUS-OceanX expedition on 4 Oct 2025.

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