Jeffrey Gardner

Our lab is focused on understanding the metabolism and physiology of bacteria, specifically how they sense their environment and obtain energy. We use the soil bacterium Cellvibrio japonicus to study how microbes in the soil detect and degrade complex polysaccharides. Our lab uses the interdisciplinary approaches of molecular genetics (transcriptomics), classical bacterial genetics, and biochemistry. By uncovering the mechanisms of complex polysaccharide degradation by bacteria we hope to: (1) Determine how bacteria are able to sense complex polysaccharides as nutrients, (2) Understand how the degradation of complex polysaccharides is regulated, (3) Elucidate unknown gene function in the context of complex polysaccharide degradation, and (4) Engineer useful properties into bacteria that may have industrial applications.