I am a microbiology masters student in the Rhizobia research group under the supervision of prof. Venter and Steenkamp. My research focus on investigating microbial community dynamics in hypersaline solar saltern environments. I am using a metagenomic approach to observe how microbial communities respond to environmental perturbations using transplantation experiments between distinct solar saltern systems in South Africa and Mallorca (Spain). My research contributes to understanding microbial adaptation, community resilience, and virus–microbe dynamics in extreme environments.