Amy Grunden

Bio

My research program is focused on the study of microorganisms called extremophiles, which are capable of thriving in diverse extreme environmental conditions such as high or low temperatures, high salinity, acidic or alkaline environments.  The goals of the extremophile research conducted in my laboratory are first to understand the adaptive mechanisms extremophiles use to survive in harsh environmental conditions and second to exploit these adaptations for biotechnological applications.  Research projects currently underway involve using selected extremophile enzymes and synthetic biology approaches to (1) decontaminate toxic organophosphorus-based nerve agents found in some pesticides and chemical warfare agents, (2) generate transgenic plants with increased tolerance to harsh environmental conditions for the purpose of developing plants that can survive in marginal environments, and (3) use extremophile genes to optimize fatty acid production in microalgae for biofuel production and (4) develop a synthetic carbon fixation cycle using archaeal and bacterial enzymes to augment the Calvin-Benson cycle in plant systems.  Research in my laboratory has been funded by DOD, DOE, NASA, NCBC, NSF, and the USDA.

Courses Taught:

• MB 351- General Microbiology
• MB 714- Metabolic Regulation

Area(s) of Expertise

Microbial physiology and Microbial biotechnology

Publications

• The scholarship of honorifics , CROP SCIENCE (2024)
• Biochemical characterization of a psychrophilic and halotolerant a-carbonic anhydrase from a deep-sea bacterium, Photobacterium profundum , AIMS MICROBIOLOGY (2023)
• Nitrogen Fixation and Ammonium Assimilation Pathway Expression of Geobacter sulfurreducens Changes in Response to the Anode Potential in Microbial Electrochemical Cells , APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY (2023)
• Streptomyces spp. as biocatalyst sources in pulp and paper and textile industries: Biodegradation, bioconversion and valorization of waste , MICROBIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY (2023)
• Survivability of Salmonella Typhimurium (ATCC 14208) and Listeria innocua (ATCC 51742) on lignocellulosic materials for paper packaging , HELIYON (2023)
• Trimming and Decontamination of Metagenomic Data can Significantly Impact Assembly and Binning Metrics, Phylogenomic and Functional Analysis , CURRENT BIOINFORMATICS (2023)
• Diversity and Structure of Bacterial Communities in Different Rhizocompartments (Rhizoplane, Rhizosphere, and Bulk) at Flag Leaf Emergence in Four Winter Wheat Varieties , MICROBIOLOGY RESOURCE ANNOUNCEMENTS (2022)
• Microbial Diversity in Four Rhizocompartments (Bulk Soil, Rhizosphere, Rhizoplane, and Endosphere) of Four Winter Wheat Varieties at the Fully Emerged Flag Leaf Growth Stage , MICROBIOLOGY RESOURCE ANNOUNCEMENTS (2022)
• Plasma-driven biocatalysis: In situ hydrogen peroxide production with an atmospheric pressure plasma jet increases the performance of OleT(JE) when compared to adding the same molar amount of hydrogen peroxide in bolus , PLASMA PROCESSES AND POLYMERS (2022)
• A review of clothing microbiology: the history of clothing and the role of microbes in textiles , BIOLOGY LETTERS (2021)

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