The Nüsslein Group
Microbial Ecology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
The area of my interest is to understand microbial methane production in deep sub-surface coal beds.
My research goals are:
1) To figure out the ecology, activity, and function of Methanogens in subsurface coal beds
2) To discern what environmental parameters, or combination thereof, would enhance the biogenic production of methane. Applying this knowledge will offer a more economically favorable energy sources that would otherwise remain unused underground.
Preliminary questions of my project:
1. Which environmental factors affect methanogenesis?
2. What differences within consortia influence methane production?
3. Where does the energy for methanogenesis originate?
Methanogens are members of the domain Archaea, which are responsible for methane production as a endproduct of their metabolism. Biological methanogenesis is a widespread microbial process, which plays a major role in carbon cycling on Earth. The Methanogens are dominant in the terminal steps of organic carbon degradation in coal, shale, and oil basins. The anaerobic transformation of complex organic matter into methane and CO2 in nature is only possible by the syntrophic relationships of different groups of microorganisms including members of both Bacteria and Archaea: I - Hydrolytic bacteria, II - Fermentative bacteria, III - Acetogenic bacteria and IV - Methanogens (Figure 1).
This project is exciting, because it will provide an innovative perspective to understand the biogenic methane production in coal bed basins. We analyze microbial communities in set up microcosms and also directly from environmental samples by DNA and RNA based molecular techniques (PCR, T-RFLP, pyrosequencing, RT-qPCR, and FISH).
Doctoral Fellowship, Turkey, 2008, Republic of Turkey Ministry of National Education, Zonguldak Karaelmas University, Department of Biology, Zonguldak, Turkey
M.S., Izmir Institute of Technology, Turkey, 2008, Molecular Biology and Genetics. Molecular Biology and Genetics (MBG)
B.S., Ege University, Turkey, 2004, Biology. Department of Biology
Coming soon.
Ünal, B., V.R. Perry, M. Sheth, A. Sachla, K.J. Chin, and K. Nüsslein, "Metabolically-active Prokaryotes in Coal Bead Basins & the Effect of Trace Elements on Methane Production", International Society of Microbial Ecology, Seattle, WA, August 2010.
Ünal, B., V.R. Perry, M. Sheth, A. Sachla, K.-J. Chin, and K. Nüsslein, "Methanogenic Activity in Subsurface Coal Bed Environments is Enhanced by Trace Element Addition" International Symposium of Subsurface Microbiology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, September 2011.
American Society of Microbiology (ASM)
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
