Olivine bioweathering and signatures of life on Mars.  Olivine (popular name: peridot) is a mineral from volcanic rocks. Thin sections of olivine crystals revealed microchannels (0.5-10 microns in diameter) inside the crystals. Such channels were found earlier in three billion years old rocks but we also found them in the Martian meteorite Nakhla. Are these microchannels produced by microbes?  We study microbial phsiology on olivine surfaces. We isolate and identify microbes, measure metabolic changes and characterize fingerprints of this activity. (Collaborators: Martin Fisk (OSU); Amy Smith; Wen Fang). 

Iron oxidation by acidophilic fungi.  We study species of Ascomycetes from the Fusarium group. These isolates grow in low nutrient media, iat low pH (0.8-2.4) on glass surfaces. Similar to other fungi these microbes have the ability to facilitate redox reactions with inorganic iron.  The reason for this activity is unknown.  We isolate strains and study their physiology.  We measure respiration, resistance to antibiotics, and changes in growth and biochemical composition in response to nutrient availability. (Collaborators: Eileen Fitzpatrick; Yelena Kiseleva; Dania Youssef). 

Micro-Aerobic Cellulose Fermentation.  An Earth-friendly method of carbon recycling and sequestration in soil. This method is faster than conventional composting, sequesters more carbon into soil and reduces the emission of greenhouse gases (methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide). We isolate microbes and study means to optimize  this process, such as increasing the celluose turnover, limit the growth of pathogens, and detoxification of the compost tea by bio-electrochemical reduction. (Collaborators at PSU: Terrence R. Green; Manar Alattar; Mikias Tizazzu; Jordan Henry; Vitalie Gulca).

H₂¹⁷O and amino groups.  We study the interaction between two AAX nuclear spin isomers (H₂¹⁷O and -¹⁴NH₂) in the presence of external magnetic fields.  This process is relevant for explaining ¹⁷O mass independent isotopic fractionation and the orgin of prebiotic homochirality. We study how differnces in chemical reactivity betweeen amino acid enantiomers are affected by H₂¹⁷O and pH and how compounds with amino groups are affected by hydration with H₂¹⁶O vs. H₂¹⁷O. (Colaborators: Romulus I. Scorei and Vily M. Cimpoiasu, Univ. Craiova, Romania)