Serratia marcescens is a common hospital pathogen, which contributes to nosocomial infections, as well as urinary and respiratory tract infections. Hospitals and convalescent homes can place patients with compromised immune systems at risk. The main purpose of this research is to study the effects of chemical cleaning agents used in healthcare institutions on S. marcescens. This research also includes air exposure to bacteria to test whether desiccating the pathogen will have any effect on its death rate. Tests also compared the susceptibility of normal and non-pigmented mutants. Ultimately, it was determined that among the six disinfectants tested, those used in clinical settings did not perform as well as common household cleaners.

In an era of increasing antibiotic resistance, one emerging strategy is the use of bacteriophage (bacteria-specific viruses) for bacterial disease therapy. We have focused on the disease acne, and the one bacterial species (Propionibacterium acnes) that contributes to serious acne lesions. We have isolated several bacteriophage that kill (lyse) P acnes bacteria. We are testing the killing of a large library of P acnes bacteria, and are identifying those bacteriophage that demonstrate the most avid and broadest spectrum killing among our P acnes isolates. It is hoped that these bacteriophage, and derivatives engineered for optimal acne treatment, will prove useful for acne therapy. Our work will also further support the general utility of bacteriophage as replacements for traditional antibiotics.

Soil microorganisms were the first major sources of therapeutic anti-microbial agents; the soil environment provides a habitat for the development of bacteria that produce novel antibiotics. This project focuses on isolating bacteria that produce novel antibiotics. Eighty-two soil samples were treated with a previously tested chemical and physical soil dispersion method. Dilutions of these treatments were plated and a ring of clearance around colonies identified antibiotic producers. One hundred ninety-three isolates were tested for their spectrum of activity against six common lab strains using the side-stripe method, leaving 119 potential candidates. Several of these candidates will be further characterized, followed by isolation of their antibiotic using organic chemistry techniques. The isolated antibiotics will be tested against clinically antibiotic resistant pathogens.

In an effort to find novel antibacterial compounds for disease chemotherapy, a large number of soil bacteria that secrete antibacterial compounds have been isolated. The spectrum of activity of these compounds has been determined using an extensive bank of laboratory test strains. Some compounds appear to inhibit a wide variety of test strains, but some target only a few test species. Some of the soil bacteria have been identified to the species level, and include (predominantly) Bacillus spp and (rarely) Gram negative rods. Partial purification of some of these compounds is underway; their chemical composition and structure will be ascertained to identify novel antibacterial compounds.

We observed a group of European badgers (Meles metes) living in a burrow system (sett)in Grasmere, England. We identified distinctive natural markings that allowed us to tell individuals apart. We recorded the badgers on film over a period of about 9 nights. To better understand their social behavior, we looked at whether different individuals came out of their burrows to forage alone, or with other badgers, and how long they took to either re-enter a burrow or leave the area of the sett. We also measured the dimensions and locations of burrow entrances in two successive summers, 2001 and 2002

The evolutionary development of flowering plants continues to be a mystery, especially with the advent of the field of molecular evolution, which has now challenged many traditional ideas. The studies of chloroplast genomes are particularly well suited for evolutionary studies because of their highly conserved nature. This research focuses specifically on the location of photosynthesis genes in the chloroplast genome. Based on our examination of all published chloroplast genome sequences, we have identified two basic distributional patterns in regards to four photosynthesis genes: psaA, psaB, psbC, and psbD. Our intention is to use these patterns as evolutionary “signatures” to better establish the phylogenetic relationship of monocots to other groups of flowering plants.

Oxalis acetosella (common wood sorrel) is considered a wintergreen herb, meaning that it keeps one set of leaves for one year and replaces them with a new set each spring. For two years, we periodically censused leaves from four populations of Oxalis acetosella in the Catskill Mountains, New York. New leaves developed throughout the year and leaf senescence occurred continually. While maintaining green leaves throughout the year, Oxalis acetosella clearly did not display the classic characteristics of a wintergreen species. We call this leaf habit "continual-green" to indicate the continual development and senescence of leaves in these populations. Future work should examine the functional utility of this strategy and the extent to which it may be present in other species and at broader geographic ranges within this species.