<style> /* Hide the generic OpenGenomeBrowser "People / Tools" credit cards — this page is about the Empty Quarter collection, not OGB itself. (A short attribution stays at the foot of this content instead.) */ .container:has(> .row.black-links) { display: none; } .eq-wrap { max-width: 980px; margin: 0 auto; } .eq-hero { padding: 2.4rem 0 1.2rem; border-bottom: 3px solid #e0b055; margin-bottom: 1.6rem; } .eq-hero h1 { font-size: 2.5rem; font-weight: 800; letter-spacing: -.5px; margin: 0 0 .4rem; background: linear-gradient(90deg,#a6772b,#d9a441); -webkit-background-clip: text; -webkit-text-fill-color: transparent; background-clip: text; } .eq-hero .eq-sub { font-size: 1.18rem; color: #6b6256; margin: 0; } .eq-hero .eq-stats { margin-top: 1rem; font-size: .95rem; color: #8a7f6d; } .eq-hero .eq-stats b { color: #a6772b; } .eq-lead { font-size: 1.06rem; line-height: 1.65; color: #333; } .eq-entry { display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit,minmax(160px,1fr)); gap: .9rem; margin: 1.8rem 0 2.2rem; } .eq-card { display: block; padding: 1.1rem 1rem; border: 1px solid #ece2cf; border-radius: 12px; background: #fffdf8; text-decoration: none !important; color: #33302a !important; transition: transform .12s, box-shadow .12s, border-color .12s; } .eq-card:hover { transform: translateY(-3px); box-shadow: 0 8px 22px rgba(166,119,43,.15); border-color: #e0b055; } .eq-card .ic { font-size: 1.5rem; display: block; margin-bottom: .35rem; } .eq-card .t { font-weight: 700; display: block; } .eq-card .d { font-size: .84rem; color: #857a68; } .eq-h2 { font-size: 1.5rem; font-weight: 750; margin: 2rem 0 1rem; color: #4a4133; } .eq-efforts { display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit,minmax(230px,1fr)); gap: 1rem; } .eq-effort { padding: 1.1rem; border-radius: 12px; background: #faf6ee; border: 1px solid #efe6d4; } .eq-effort h4 { margin: 0 0 .3rem; font-size: 1.06rem; color: #a6772b; } .eq-effort p { margin: 0; font-size: .92rem; color: #575043; line-height: 1.5; } .eq-effort .who { display: block; margin-top: .5rem; font-size: .82rem; color: #8a7f6d; } .eq-team { display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit,minmax(150px,1fr)); gap: 1rem; margin-top: .5rem; } .eq-person { text-align: center; } .eq-person .av { width: 62px; height: 62px; border-radius: 50%; margin: 0 auto .5rem; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; font-weight: 700; font-size: 1.2rem; color: #fff; background: linear-gradient(135deg,#c8963b,#9c6f2a); } .eq-person .nm { font-weight: 650; font-size: .95rem; color: #33302a; } .eq-person .rl { font-size: .8rem; color: #857a68; } .eq-foot { margin: 2.2rem 0 .5rem; font-size: .85rem; color: #9a8f7c; } .eq-foot a { color: #a6772b; } </style> <div class="eq-wrap"> <div class="eq-hero"> <h1>Rub al‑Khali Culture Collection</h1> <p class="eq-sub">Bacteria &amp; archaea isolated and sequenced from the Empty Quarter (Rubʿ al‑Khali) desert</p> <div class="eq-stats"><b>564</b> strains&nbsp;·&nbsp;<b>642</b> genome assemblies&nbsp;·&nbsp;annotated with Bakta + eggNOG&nbsp;·&nbsp;classified with GTDB‑Tk</div> </div> <p class="eq-lead"> This browser hosts the cultured microbial diversity of the <a href="https://rubalkhali.science" target="_blank">Empty Quarter (Rubʿ al‑Khali)</a> — the largest contiguous sand desert on Earth. Over several years at <b>KAUST</b>, strains were isolated, enriched and cultured from desert soils, sediments, biofilms and brines (<a href="https://rubalkhali.science" target="_blank">sampling sites &amp; expedition</a>), then whole‑genome sequenced, assembled and functionally annotated. Explore each strain's genes, KEGG pathways and taxonomy — or compare strains across the collection. </p> <div class="eq-entry"> <a class="eq-card" href="/genomes/"><span class="ic">🧬</span><span class="t">Browse genomes</span><span class="d">All strains — filter, sort, compare</span></a> <a class="eq-card" href="/genomes/"><span class="ic">🔎</span><span class="t">Search by taxon</span><span class="d">Type a genus, or use the sunburst below</span></a> <a class="eq-card" href="/pathway/"><span class="ic">🗺️</span><span class="t">Pathway maps</span><span class="d">Colour KEGG maps by gene content</span></a> <a class="eq-card" href="/blast/"><span class="ic">🧪</span><span class="t">BLAST</span><span class="d">Search a sequence against the collection</span></a> <a class="eq-card" href="/trees/"><span class="ic">🌳</span><span class="t">Trees</span><span class="d">Taxonomic &amp; phylogenetic trees</span></a> <a class="eq-card" href="https://rubalkhali.science" target="_blank"><span class="ic">🏜️</span><span class="t">The expedition</span><span class="d">Empty Quarter field project</span></a> </div> <h2 class="eq-h2">Three culturing efforts</h2> <div class="eq-efforts"> <div class="eq-effort"><h4>General isolates</h4><p>Aerobic and anaerobic isolates cultured directly from desert soils, sediments and brines.</p><span class="who">Tiannyu Wang</span></div> <div class="eq-effort"><h4>Salt &amp; carbon enrichments</h4><p>Enrichment cultures under salt stress across a range of carbon sources, selecting for halotolerant metabolic specialists.</p><span class="who">Krishnakumar Sivakumar</span></div> <div class="eq-effort"><h4>Thermophiles</h4><p>High‑temperature enrichments and isolates targeting heat‑adapted desert microbes.</p><span class="who">Abderahmane Derouiche</span></div> </div> <h2 class="eq-h2">Team</h2> <div class="eq-team"> <div class="eq-person"><div class="av">KS</div><div class="nm">Krishnakumar Sivakumar</div><div class="rl">Enrichment cultures</div></div> <div class="eq-person"><div class="av">TW</div><div class="nm">Tiannyu Wang</div><div class="rl">Isolation &amp; culturing</div></div> <div class="eq-person"><div class="av">AD</div><div class="nm">Abderahmane Derouiche</div><div class="rl">Thermophiles</div></div> <div class="eq-person"><div class="av">MA</div><div class="nm">Marwa Abdelhakim</div><div class="rl">Biocuration &amp; sample metadata</div></div> <div class="eq-person"><div class="av">AV</div><div class="nm">Alejandra López Velázquez</div><div class="rl">Bioinformatics &amp; knowledge graph</div></div> <div class="eq-person"><div class="av">MR</div><div class="nm">Magnus Rueping</div><div class="rl">Principal investigator</div></div> <div class="eq-person"><div class="av">RH</div><div class="nm">Robert Hoehndorf</div><div class="rl">Principal investigator</div></div> </div> <p class="eq-foot"> Cultured, sequenced and analysed at <b>King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)</b>. Genomes assembled (hifiasm / Flye / SPAdes / Unicycler), annotated (Bakta, eggNOG‑mapper) and classified (GTDB‑Tk r226); data integrated into the Empty Quarter knowledge graph by Alejandra López Velázquez. Served with <a href="https://opengenomebrowser.github.io/" target="_blank">OpenGenomeBrowser</a>. </p> </div>