Anne Booker, PhD

Education

B.A., Biology, Austin College, 2014

Ph.D., Microbiology, The Ohio State University, 2018

Research Interests

Hello and Welcome!

I am a microbiologist that is interested in understanding how microbes influence the world around us. My realization of the power of microbes began when I was an undergraduate and I had the opportunity to track prairie restoration efforts by measuring specific microbial gene concentrations over time. Through this project I learned combinations of microbes can be used to help fix societal based problems, this was exciting, and I wanted to learn more about them.

During my Ph.D. I learned that deep underground environments on Earth (both on land and at sea) house 80% of all microbes that live on earth! That means under our feet trillions of microbes are living as best they can. For my Ph.D. work I investigated how microbes introduced into the subsurface during natural gas extraction survive this transition and influence the natural gas extraction efforts.

As a postdoctoral researcher I wanted to learn about the “other” subsurface, or the oceanic crust. This is a giant microbial habitat, but microbiologists know little about which microbes live here and what tools microbes use to live in this space. I worked with Dr. Beth Orcutt to sample ocean crust habitats in the north Pacific Ocean and used single cell genomics to study the genes present in some of the recurring bacteria present. We found bacteria that rely on amino acids from seawater for carbon and use the surrounding rocks as an electron dump. Full details in "Life strategies for Aminicenantia in subseafloor oceanic crust."

Now I want to get experience working with eukaryotes and viruses, so I joined Dr. Joaquín Martínez Martínez on a project aimed at learning about marine viruses and how they influence the harmful algal bloom former, Karenia brevis. Are there viruses that infect K. brevis? And do marine viruses influence harmful algal bloom dynamics?

I have experience working with microbes from all domains of life (except Archaea), which has given me perspective on how these microbes influence each other in the environment. I like this perspective because it helps with my original goal, using the power of microbes to solve problems. Please reach out to abooker@bigelow.org if you want to problem solve together.