2008 Woodie Awards
South Alabama professor Kiene receives national grant
Devi Sampat
Staff Writer
Issue date: 10/22/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
South Alabama marine science professor Dr. Ronald Kiene will work with a research team that was recently awarded an $864,782 grant by The National Science Foundation.
The project funded by the Biological Oceanography Program of the NSF will focus on degrading organic sulfur compounds to dimethyl sulfide by use of environmental functional genomics methods.
The team will be working on a three-year-long project with bacteria that metabolize certain organic sulfur compounds produced in the ocean.
"The compounds we will be working with play an important role in the global sulfur cycle," Kiene said. "One of the compounds, dimethylsulfide, or DMS, is a gas that is produced in seawater and goes into the atmosphere where it can have important effects on the climate system."
Throughout the duration of the project, Kiene will investigate what kinds of bacterial genes regulate the metabolism of these sulfur compounds and hopes to accomplish the task of viewing bacteria in marine biology on a grand scale.
"We hope to use gene micro arrays to look at the expression of key sulfur metabolism genes in cultured marine bacteria and also in natural mixed populations of bacteria from the marine environment," Kiene said.
The project began for Kiene's team when The National Science Foundation called for specific proposals within the study of environmental genomics, a field relating the latest gene-based research on problems focusing on the environment. Research grants are obtained simply when groups of people submit various research proposals for selection.
"Some of the new genetic research has greatly increased our understanding of the hidden diversity of microbes out in the ocean and how they work to keep the environment in balance," Kiene said.
The project funded by the Biological Oceanography Program of the NSF will focus on degrading organic sulfur compounds to dimethyl sulfide by use of environmental functional genomics methods.
The team will be working on a three-year-long project with bacteria that metabolize certain organic sulfur compounds produced in the ocean.
"The compounds we will be working with play an important role in the global sulfur cycle," Kiene said. "One of the compounds, dimethylsulfide, or DMS, is a gas that is produced in seawater and goes into the atmosphere where it can have important effects on the climate system."
Throughout the duration of the project, Kiene will investigate what kinds of bacterial genes regulate the metabolism of these sulfur compounds and hopes to accomplish the task of viewing bacteria in marine biology on a grand scale.
"We hope to use gene micro arrays to look at the expression of key sulfur metabolism genes in cultured marine bacteria and also in natural mixed populations of bacteria from the marine environment," Kiene said.
The project began for Kiene's team when The National Science Foundation called for specific proposals within the study of environmental genomics, a field relating the latest gene-based research on problems focusing on the environment. Research grants are obtained simply when groups of people submit various research proposals for selection.
"Some of the new genetic research has greatly increased our understanding of the hidden diversity of microbes out in the ocean and how they work to keep the environment in balance," Kiene said.
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