bakermans bakermans
Welcome to the home page of Corien Bakermans. I am a microbiologist interested in determining what adaptations microorganisms have evolved to live at low temperatures and how these adaptations are relevant to ecological success and ecosystem processes.
Contact me:
Corien Bakermans, PhD Assitant Professor of Microbiology Altoona College
Extremophiles in general are my passion as they take me into
the field
and also allow reductionist work in the laboratory. I am
particularly fascinated by how microorganisms approach the
thermodynamic constraints of low-temperature environments.
Low-temperature environments (such as sea ice, glacial ice,
the deep
sea, and permafrost) are inhabited by a variety of
cold-adapted
organisms from microorganisms to fish and plants, but are
clearly
dominated by microorganisms in terms of species diversity and
biomass. Yet, microbiologists have only begun to realize the
potential for bacteria to actively survive, and even
reproduce, in cold
environments at temperatures as low as -20°C.
Whether or not
bacteria are active enough to actually reproduce in these or
other
low-temperature environments remains to be conclusively
demonstrated.
Few studies have examined the physiological adaptations of
microorganisms at low temperatures and even fewer studies have
examined
the growth of microorganisms at temperatures below -1.7°C
(the
freezing point of seawater). Clearly large gaps in our
knowledge
persist about the activities and processes of microbial
communities at
low temperatures and in the environment.
The long-term goal of my research is to develop a 
comprehensive
understanding of
how microorganisms can successfully inhabit and
contribute to the
function of ecosystems that experience subzero
temperatures. Subzero
temperatures, whether seasonal or permanent, introduce
additional stresses to organisms such as high salt
concentrations and
the presence of ice crystals. Relating mechanisms of
low-temperature adaptation (such as structural,
functional, and
regulatory changes in proteins, transcripts,
chromosomes, and
membranes) with ecological success of microorganisms as
measured by in
situ activity, diversity, distribution, and
contribution to
ecosystem function (nutrient cycling) will be essential
to this goal.
(Photos: Top, Corien in the Austrian Alps. Bottom, Field work in the Canadian Arctic, July 2006.)