This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Microbial biology for FY2003. The fellowship supports training and research on the basic biology of protozoan, microalgal, fungal, archaeal, bacterial and viral species that are not generally considered to be model organisms. Further, it provides opportunities for recent doctoral recipients to obtain additional training in microbial biology, to gain research experience under the sponsorship of established scientists, and to broaden their scientific horizons beyond the research experiences during the undergraduate and graduate training. These fellowships are further designed to assist new scientists to direct their research efforts across traditional disciplinary lines and to avail themselves of unique research resources, sites, and facilities, including foreign locations.
The research and training plan is entitled "Cold-active bacterial enzymes: investigation of the structural features necessary for activity at low temperature." This research investigates the structural features responsible for enzymatic activity at low temperature by conducting biophysical and directed evolution studies on two cold-active enzymes produced by the psychrophilic bacterium Colwellia psychrerythraea strain 34H. The results of these studies will enhance understanding of bacterial evolution and the limits of life on this planet and may also have numerous industrial applications.
