Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Microbial Biology for FY 2003

Gladfelter Amy, Basel 0454

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 their 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 "Coordination of nuclear division in a fungal cell with thousands of nuclei." This research studies the regulation of nuclear division in the multinucleated, filamentous fungus Ashbya gossypii. In this organism, neighboring nuclei display independent cell cycles resulting in asynchronous mitoses within a common cytoplasm. Using cell biological and molecular genetic approaches, the research evaluates the key molecular controls of the unique cell cycle.