Genetic manipulation of Mariprofundus ferrooxydans to understand and control iron oxide stalk formation
Abstract
The work proposed here aligns with the ONR synthetic biology program designed to develop tools that will be used in the future to engineer living systems. These engineered systems will provide new Naval capabilities in the areas of sensing, processing and in electronic materials and devices. Specifically, we propose to continue the development and implementation of genetic methods in the marine bacterium Mariprofundus ferrooxydans, known for the production of biogenic iron oxide minerals (Emerson et al., 2007). Our focus will be to understand, and eventually control, the formation of the iron oxide stalk. Part of this work will be done synergistically with Dr. Sarah Glavens research group at the Naval Research Laboratory, focusing on the development of tools for genetic manipulation of challenging marine bacteria. Overall, our work will address the need to understand genetics, physiology and metabolism underlying the phenomenon of iron oxide stalk formation by M. ferrooxydans through execution of the following Specific Aims: 1) Develop high-efficiency conjugation methods for marine isolates and communities. 2) Develop and validate mutagenesis and gene expression modulation in M. ferrooxydans. 3) Disrupt and validate genes predicted to be involved in stalk shaped iron oxide nanostructure formation by M. ferrooxydans.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 02, 2021
- Source ID
- N000142112166
Entities
People
- Jeffrey A Gralnick
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- Regents of the University of Minnesota
- United States Navy