Bacteria meddling with metals, by Larry Barton
When: Mon, Feb 20 2017 6:00pm
Where: UNM University Club
Abstract
Bacteria have a unique capability to detoxify metals and in some instances corrode iron pipes or structures. This interaction with metals is attributed to several properties including a highly effective system of communication which enables individual cells to cooperate as if a single unit. One example of cooperative activity by bacteria which is the production of nanowires for extracellular metabolism and another is corrosion of metallic iron. Drawing from research conducted with Tim Ross, I will discuss the bacterial activity associated with solubilizing iron.
Another research project which I conducted as an interdisciplinary activity involving numerous faculty at UNM Engineering School, I will summarize the bioremediation of ground water contaminated with uranium at Tuba City Az. As an extension of an electron microscopy study involving mapping bacteria for different metals, I will indicate that metal metabolism by bacteria is at specific regions in the cell and not dispersed throughout the cytoplasm of the cell. The final topic I’ll discuss deals with my experience in travels at the invitation of the Chinese Academy of Science to discuss bacterial metal bioremediation with faculty and students at the University of Nanjing.
Biographical Summary for Larry L Barton, Emeritus Professor, Biology Department
He received his doctorate from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln with majors in Microbiology and Biochemistry. After a postdoctoral position in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Georgia where he worked on energetics of anaerobic bacteria, he moved to Baltimore where he held an appointment as Assistant Professor in the School of Health and Hygiene at Johns Hopkins University and became involved in an international leprosy research program. In 1972, he joined the Biology Department at the University of New Mexico and since that time his research has focused on bacterial metabolism of metal ions. In 2014, Larry received the Heritage Award from the International Society of Biometals. He has published seven books on the topics of metals in biology, two text books in Microbiology and he is the series editor of SpringerBriefs in Biometals. Over the years he has directed many graduate and undergraduate students in research projects and has published numerous research articles on the topic of inorganic metabolism. He was the organizer and initial Editor in Chief of the international journal ANAEROBE. He hosted two international meetings on metal ions in biology, is a reviewer for numerous international journals and reviews placement of scientists from Iraq, Afghanistan and Georgia into US universities. Along with Dr. H. Lin at the UNM medical School, Larry is currently focusing on controlling intestinal diseases due to the imbalance of anaerobic bacteria.
