NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The National Science Foundation has granted over $1.5 million to the University of Oklahoma to conduct metagenomic and other analyses of suflate-reducing bacteria and research into the genetics and physiology of a water flea as part of ecology studies, the University said Thursday.
University of Oklahoma Research Assistant Professor Amy Callaghan will use a $725,000 grant to study bacteria that use petroleum hydrocarbons as growth substrates. Those studies will involve metagenomics, transcriptomics, and metabolite profiling. The bacteria are involved in anaerobic degradation of alkanes, which are important components of petroleum, and could play a role in the ecological impact of oil spills.
Zoology Professor Lawrence Weider will use a $780,000 grant to study the physiology and genetic structures of Daphnia, a water flea living in lakes. The study will use "resurrection ecology" methods to compare the effects of phosphorus on Daphnia and other aquatic life over a 50-year period.