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Dr. Peter Kourtev - research interests
I am interested in the the structure of microbial
communities, how they are shaped by a
variety of biotic and abiotic factors and how they are
related to microbial community functions. My applied
research program currently has four distinct areas:
- Microbial community in the rhizosphere of
invasive plant species. Invasive plant
species alter soil chemical and biological
properties (for example by introducing new
processes (like nitrogen-fixation) or selecting
for different microbial species). I am
interested in describing the changes in the
structure and function of microbial communities
in soils under invasive plant species. The
ultimate goal of my research is to relate
changes in the microbial community to the
invasive potential of exotic plants and to the
potential for restoration of native plant
species after invasive removals.
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- Interactions between microbial
communities and toxic metals. I am
interested in the response of soil microbial
community to chromium and other toxic metals. I
have done extensive research on
the interactions between anaerobic (without
oxygen) microbial communities and chromium in
samples from a long-term (decades) contaminated
soil. I currently am studying the ability of
certain anaerobic bacteria to reduce nitrate in
the presence of chromium (VI).
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- Microbial diversity in the gut of wild
ruminants. I am in the process of starting a
research project on the diversity of bacteria in
the stomach of deer. This project will be done
in collaboration with Dr. Brad
Swanson from the Biology department
at Central Michigan University. We aim to
correlate deer heterozygocity with the diversity
of bacteria in their guts. I am looking
for graduate students to work on this projects - please visit the
prospective
students page for information on how to
contact me if you would like to work in my
lab.
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- Microbial diversity in the pitchers of the Northern pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea. I am investigating the environmental/biological drivers that determine the composition and function of the microbial community within pitchers of the pitcher plant. I am working in collaboration with Dr. Robert Hamilton IV, from Kent State University who is an internationall expert on the insect community of pitcher plants.
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- Isolating previously uncultured
bacteria. Recent advances in molecular
biology have uncovered an incredible diversity
of microorganisms in the environment, yet we
have only cultured a very small percentage of
them. I am interested in developing new methods
for the isolation of previously uncultured
bacteria. Students working on this project will
help me not only during the isolation process
but also in the process of describing newly
found species of bacteria. Interested
undergraduate students, please visit the
prospective
students for information on how to
contact me if you would like to work in my
lab.
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