Current Projects at the Nüsslein Lab

Research emphasis:
The influence of environmental stressors on microbial communities.

Non-technical Summary. Microbial Life is suboptimal. In most cases environmental conditions prevent microbes to achieve their full potential. To overcome limitations microorganisms developed two strategies, tolerate or fight. As most microbes live within complex communities we are interested how microorganisms withstand an environmental disturbance by either adapting to it or by actively changing it.

Technical Summary. Our main research interest is to understand the microbial community structure over the continuum of environmental conditions. By studying the natural variation and regulation of microbial community composition, we achieve a platform from which we then ask how does microbial community structure and function adapt to external stress factors or disturbances. Within that framework of adaptation we focus on two complementary approaches to investigate the influence environmental stressors can have on microbial communities: the ability of communities to withstand stressors in their environment, and their ability to remediate environmental stressors.

Communities, not total biomass, control net process rates driving the biogeochemical cycles sustaining the biosphere. Thus, descriptions of the temporal and spatial dimensions of microbial community structure and the complex gene expression patterns that underlie trophic interactions are fundamental to a more complete understanding of our biosphere. Our research group investigates the microbial population ecology and community ecology of differentially compromised environments with the use of genetic marker genes for microbial identity and microbial function. These studies are based on the genetic diversity and population dynamics exhibited by microorganisms in their natural environments (structure & function), complemented with physiological measurements where possible, and we compare these natural systems to shifts in response to an external stress. In summary, our research emphasis is to gain deeper understanding on the influence of environmental stressors on microbial communities.

A. Microbial Communities that Withstand External Stress

Withstanding Nutrient Deficiency on Lava as a Pioneer System
[Vicente Gómez, Ph.D. candidate]

Withstanding Nutrient Deficiency and Availability in the Deep Subsurface
[Patricia Waldron, M.S. candidate]

Withstanding Mechanical Stress at the Soil Aggregate Scale
[Javier Izquierdo, Ph.D. candidate]

Biogenic Control of Mechanical Stress

Acidic Conditions with High Heavy Metal Concentrations
[Cristine Barreto, Ph.D., lab alumna; Krissy Forloney, M.S., lab alumna]

Withstanding Drought Stress
[Chris Vriezen, Ph.D., lab alumnus]

B. Microbial Communities that Remediate External Stress

Heavy Metal Stress and Phytoremediation
[Lisa Stout, Ph.D. candidate]

Self-Attenuation of Acid Mine Drainage
[Caryl-Ann Becerra, Ph.D. candidate]

Remediation of Arsenic Stress
[Brian Gibney, Ph.D. candidate]

Microbial PCB Removal Supported by Phytoremediation
[Dawn Ciulla, M.S., lab alumna]

C. Method Development and Side Projects
In Collaboration with the Polymer Science Department

Biofriendly Surfaces and Detection
[Klaus Nüsslein, Ph.D.]

Antimicrobial Surfaces
[Jason Rennie, M.S. candidate]