Current News
Elusive marine microbe researched
Assistant professor of biology Anne Bernhard is a specialist in the role of microbes in marine and estuarine ecosystem
September 22, 2005
Anne Bernhard, Connecticut College assistant professor of biology, has co-authored research on an elusive ocean microbe that is now considered to be a major link in the world's fragile nitrogen cycle. Her research will be published in this week's edition of Nature, considered one of the most prestigious research journals.
Bernhard and the research team, which was headed by David Stahl of the University of Washington, successfully cultivated the tiny microbe Crenarchaeota in the laboratory and discovered some surprising facts about the diet and lifestyle of these microbes, which surf the seas in almost unimaginable multitude.
Crenarchaeota survive by oxidizing ammonia to nitrite and, by the sheer weight of their numbers, may make them big players in the world's nitrogen cycle - converting ammonia into other harmless nitrogen compounds.
Additionally, their nitrogen-metabolizing genes look superficially similar to those of as-yet-uncultured terrestrial cold-living Crenarchaeota, which could indicate that a nitrogen-based lifestyle originated in these ancient organisms, rather than in bacteria.
Bernhard, who joined Connecticut College in 2004, is a specialist in the role of microbes in marine and estuarine ecosystems and their interactions with other organisms as well as with their environment. She has authored or co-authored more than a dozen journal articles.
For media inquiries contact: Deborah MacDonnell (860) 439-2504, dmacdonn@conncoll.edu; or Caroline Gransee (860) 439-2508, cgransee@conncoll.edu