Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Microbial Biology for FY2001

Miller, Scott R, Moffett Field CA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Microbial Biology for FY2001. The fellowship supports training and research on the basic biology of protozoan, microalgal, fungal, archaeal, bacterial and viral species that are not generally considered to be model organisms. Further, it provides opportunities for a recent doctoral recipients to obtain additional training in microbial biology, to gain research experience under the sponsorship of established scientists, and to broaden his/her scientific horizons beyond the research experiences during the undergraduate and graduate training. These fellowships are further designed to assist new scientists to direct their research efforts across traditional disciplinary lines and to avail themselves of unique research resources, sites, and facilities, including foreign locations. The research and training plan is entitled "Evolutionary genetics of ecological diversification in cyanobacterial populations from hot spring habitats differing in nitrogen availability." Understanding how ecological differences evolve in microbial populations is essential for explaining the magnitude and distribution of microbial diversity. This research uses a combination of quantitative, population and developmental genetic approaches to: (1) test for ecological divergence between populations of the cyanobacterium Mastigocladus laminosus from habitats differing in nitrogen availability; (2) evaluate the evolutionary processes shaping ecological structure in these populations; and (3) link molecular genetic variation to variation in the ability to assimilate different nitrogen sources.