The Consortium of BIODESERT has been assembled to complement excellent multidisciplinary expertises in different fields like microbial ecology, environmental microbiology and microbial biotechnology. Such an assemblage will guarantee the achievement of the overall objectives and of all deliverables of the project.

Most of the partners have a long experience in microbial ecology environmental and agricultural microbiology and microbial biotechnology with a respectful record of studies dealing with the microbiology in different environmental settings related to BIODESERT, i.e. arid soils, plant fertilization and protection, insect symbiosis, and microbiology in saline systems and arid environments.

The overall objective of BIODESERT is to provide support to Tunisia for developing a high quality research potential for the microbial resource management in arid environments. The involvement of the partnership proposed in BIODESERT for the achievement of this objective is based on three key characteristics of the proposed partnership among the University of Tunis, the University of Milan and the University of Ioannina. (i) The mutual research interest in the microbial ecology and biotechnology of extreme arid environments; (ii) The long collaboration lasting between the partners documented by a long list of scientific papers published in authoritative peer-reviewed scientific journals; (iii) The technical complementarities among the three partners. We believe that these are essential requirements for putting into effect the project and create a reference laboratory and technological platform for Tunisia and North Africa able to manage in a modern way advanced research on the microbial resource management for a safe and sustainable agriculture in arid ecosystems and to address the strategies for the establishment of a bio-economy.

The BIODESERT will contribute to the recruitment of 3 international expert researches for a 3 years PostDoc position. These 3 researchers will spent 1 year in Europe; 2 of them at the Milan University and one at the Ioannina University. In addition the BIODESERT will also recruit one person to help in administrative management of the project. This person has already been hired and started to work since the 1st of July 2010.