Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Microbial Biology for FY 2002

Dollhopf Sherry L, Tallahassee FL

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 "The microbiology of iron reduction in the salt marsh." This research is investigating the importance of microorganisms that use iron to obtain energy for growth in the salt marsh ecosystem. Comprehensive geochemical and microbiological laboratory techniques are being used to quantify the contribution of microbial iron respiration to total organic matter decomposition in different salt marsh environments to estimate the importance of iron respiration to carbon cycling on a marsh-wide scale. The diversity and community structure of iron-reducing microorganisms is being investigated using serial dilution cultures, 16S rRNA based techniques, fluorescent in situ hybridization, and microscopy. This research could lead to the discovery of new iron-reducing organisms that are important in coastal marine environments.