Microbial populations associated with the major substrates of the
canopy of a 70 m old-growth Douglas fir were studied to determine
potential activities. Seasonal samples from bark, foliage, epiphytic
moss, lichens, and litter accumulations were collected to i) obtain
population data, ii) to isolate the major groups of microorganisms
present,...
Marine sediments are one of the largest habitats for microbial life on earth. These microorganisms play critical roles in biogeochemical cycling both within the subsurface and between the sediment and water columns. However, microbial communities in sediments are highly heterogeneous and the factors defining microbial community structure and metabolic function...
Forest fires contribute a significant amount of CO₂ to the atmosphere each year, and CO₂ emissions from fires are likely to increase under projected conditions of global climate change. In addition to volatilizing aboveground biomass and litter layers, forest fires have a profound effect on belowground carbon (C) pools and...
The cycling of root-deposited photo synthate (rhizodeposition) through the
soil microbial biomass is widely recognized as a critical component of ecosystem
functioning. Little is currently known about the flow of photosynthate through the
microbial biomass however. My research goal was to examine if and how the flow
of root-deposited photo...
1,1,1-Tricholorethane (1,1,1-TCA), a widely used industrial solvents, is one of the most common subsurface contaminants. Transformation processes in the subsurface can result in the production of 1,1-dichioroethane (1,1-DCA) and 1,1- dichioroethene (l,1-DCE) from 1,1,1-TCA contamination, resulting in plumes of mixed chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs). A butane-utilizing microorganism, strain 1 83BP,...
Batch cultures of Candidatus Pelagibacter ubique were grown under iron-, organosulfur-, and nitrogen-limiting conditions to understand how this ubiquitous marine bacterium responds to and interacts with environments where growth is limited by the availability of these nutrients. Global gene expression was monitored using microarrays and quantitative mass spectrometry to observe...
Microbial electrochemical systems (MESs) have attracted much research attention in recent years due to their promising applications in renewable energy generation, bioremediation, and wastewater treatment. In a MES, microorganisms interact with electrodes via electrons, catalyzing oxidation and reduction reactions at the anode and the cathode.
The bacterial community of a...
Current oil production technologies recover only about one‐third to one‐half of the oil
originally present in an oil reservoir. Given current oil prices, even a modest increase in oil recovery efficiency is fiscally attractive. One novel approach to increase oil recovery
efficiency is a process called microbial enhanced oil recovery...