The Extreme Microbiome Project (XMP) is an international scientific effort to characterize the microbial composition of extremophilic and unique environments using whole genome shotgun sequencing of DNA and RNA along with classic culturing techniques. Sample collection sites including Lake Hillier in Western Australia, the ?Door to Hell? gas crater in Turkmenistan, deep ocean brine lakes, deep ocean sediments from Greenland, permafrost tunnels in the Arctic, and acidic saline lakes of Australia, as well as the fecal microbiomes of Penguin and Hummingbird. The goals of the XMP are multifaceted: to refine and standardize techniques for the detection and characterization of novel microbes, evaluate nucleic acid techniques for extremophilic samples, and to identify the appropriate bioinformatic pipelines needed for these types of samples. Specific initiatives include development of microbial reference standards for worldwide use, development of high performance DNA extraction reagents and enzymes specific for microbiome applications, as well as metagenomic specific collections devices. The XMP is a partnership which includes both academic and corporate scientists with the primary goal of advancing the science and tools of metagenomics.