Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Microbial Biology for FY 2002

Graham David E, Blacksburg VA

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 "Biosynthesis of two coenzymes in methanogenic microorganisms." The methanogenic microorganism Methanococcus jannaschii grows in hydrothermal vents, using hydrogen and carbon dioxide to make methane gas. This project seeks to identify how M. jannaschii produces two coenzymes, Coenzyme M and Coenzyme B, that cooperate in the final steps of methanogenesis to release methane and conserve energy for the cell.