Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Microbial Biology for FY 2003

Zwiesler-Vollick Julie L, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Microbial Biology for FY2003. 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 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 role of secreted proteins in the virulence of an apoplast-colonizing plant pathogenic fungus." Septoria lycopersici is a pathogenic fungus of tomato that relies on the secretion of molecules into the space between plant cells (the apoplast) to cause disease. The secreted proteins of S. lycopersici are being identified and characterized with the goal of determining their role in pathogenesis.