Research
Our primary interest is to better understand the interaction of the biosphere and geosphere, as well as to better understand novel microbes and their ecologies and physiologies.
In practice, we study bacteria in the field, in the lab, through microscopy, enrichment culturing, physiology studies, geochemical analyses, and molecular methods such as metagenomics.
Some of our active research projects and areas of interest include:
Studying the ecology and symbioses of Thiomargarita and other sulfur-oxidizing bacteria
Investigating the role of polyphosphate-accumulating bacteria in caries-associated mineral dissolution (cavities)
Investigating the role of sulfur bacteria in marine phosphorite formation, barite formation, and carbonate dissolution
Developing antibodies and proteins as in-situ organic biomarker detection tools
Thiomargarita inhabit sulfidic sediments in upwelling OMZs and in methane seep settings among other habitats. Here the Thiomargarita mats are being sampled by the Alvin deep-sea submersible.
In addition to being the world's largest known bacteria, Thiomargarita cells have complex intracellular dynamics, ecologies and metabolisms
We have discovered that Thiomargarita contains complex intracellular vesicles among other dynamic sub-cellular features