Jonna M. Coombs
Associate Professor
Biology
Adelphi University
United States of America
Biography
Jonna M. Coombs completed Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University (2000) B.S., University of Maine (1994).2003--Travel Grant to attend the 11th International Microbial Genomes meeting in Durham, NC. 2002--US-EC fellowship for early career scientists, for a short-term exchange to the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Research Interest
“Bioremediation” is the use of living organisms (usually plants or bacteria) to clean up environments that have been contaminated with hazardous wastes. My research in the field of heavy metal bioremediation focuses on three major questions: 1.) What kinds of bacteria are capable of bioremediation, and how do these bacteria survive in environments contaminated with hazardous waste? 2.) What are the structural changes that affect the stability, catalytic efficiency, and substrate specificity of the proteins involved in metal resistance? 3.) How has horizontal gene transfer (HGT) played a role in the evolution of metal resistance and other environmentally relevant traits?
Publications
-
D. R. Nemergut, T. Barkay, and J. Coombs (2007). A review of mobile gene elements and methods to study horizontal gene transfer in environmental microbial communities. In C. J. Hurst, R. L. Crawford, J. L. Garland, D. A. Lipson, A. L. Mills, and L. D. Stetzenbach (Eds.). The Manual of Environmental Microbiology. (pp. 758-768). Washington D.C.: ASM Press.
-
J. M. Coombs (2009). Potential for horizontal gene transfer in subsurface microbial communities. In M. Gogarten and P. Gogarten (Eds.). Horizontal Gene Transfer: Genomes in Flux. (pp. 413-433). Totowa, NJ: Humana Press
-
P. A. Sobecky and J. M. Coombs (2009). Horizontal gene transfer in metal and radionuclide contaminated soils. In M. Gogarten and P. Gogarten (Eds.). Horizontal Gene Transfer: Genomes in Flux. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press.
