Leslie, a Senior in Biochemistry working in the laboratory of Judy Wall, received an honorable mention for her poster presentation titled “Sulfonate Utilization by Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough” at Mizzou Life Sciences Week 2018 in a competition among all presenting post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduates in Ecological, Evolutionary, and Developmental Biology. In the 100 Well Survey of the Oak Ridge Reservation done by ENIGMA, sulfate-reducing bacteria and sulfate are nearly mutually exclusive in the groundwater. To predict the presence and metabolism of sulfate-reducing bacteria as part of the Environmental Ark Campaign, we must understand what oxidized sulfur compounds are available and can be utilized by sulfate-reducing bacteria. Leslie is characterizing sulfonates, ubiquitous in nature, as potential electron acceptors for sulfate-reducing bacteria. She has shown that many sulfate reducers can utilize the sulfonate isethionate as a terminal electron acceptor and has identified the transporter and potential pathway for isethionate utilization. She is currently writing the manuscript for the work described in this poster for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Leslie has been working in the Wall lab as part of ENIGMA since Fall 2014 and upon graduation plans to enter a Ph.D. program to pursue her interest in environmentally-relevant anaerobes.
Poster Title: Sulfonate Utilization by Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough
Authors: Leslie A. Day, Kara B. De Leon, Judy D. Wall