BSC 302 Intro to Microbial Ecology

Dissimilatory Sulfate Reduction

Anaerobic respiration

Sulfate is terminal electron acceptor (SRB- sulfate reducing bacteria)

-coupled with oxidation of organic matter (lactate, acetate, etc)

performed by some bacteria, few archaea

sulfate is reduced to hydrogen sulfide

Comparing Gene Phylogeny

allows us to determine HGT events

closely related species can contain same gene (same function) but these genes can vary in their sequences

comparing relatedness of different genes can help determine origins of the genes and how diversity occurs

Lateral gene transfer in SRB

Rhizosphere

high nutrient and water availability in rhizosphere is associated with high conjugative plasmid transfer

2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid degradation genes found on transferred plasmids

-high concentrations of this compound increased rate of plasmid transfer

-HGT important in C source utilization and antibacterial resistance

Microbial Ecology definition

the study of microbial diversity, functions, and interactions with their environment

environment includes biological, chemical, and physical

Microbial Ecology

we have characterized -1% of microbial species that exist on earth

1,000,000,000 microbial cells in 1 gram of soil

What are the current research topics in microbial ecology?

microbial population and community ecology

microbe-microbe and microbe-host interactions

evolutionary genetics

integrated genomics and post-genomics approaches in microbial ecology

microbial engineering

geomicrobiology and microbial contributions to geochemical cycles

microbial ecology and functional diversity of natural habitats

microbial ecosystem impacts

Steps for sharing of microbial ecology research

1. Get research funding

2. conduct experiment

3. collect data

4. publish findings

5. share findings with local communities, colleagues and students, local, national, and international conferences

What is the popular publishing venue for research?

the ISME journal