Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Microbial Biology for FY 2002

Bernhard Anne E, Shoreline WA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Microbial Biology for FY2002. 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 "Measuring activity and diversity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in estuarine sediments." This research focuses on ammonia-oxidizing bacteria as a model system to study the relationship between microbial diversity and community processes in estuarine sediments. It employs real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to measure changes in the expression of the enzyme responsible for ammonia oxidation, that is, ammonia monooxygenase (AMO).