Now out in ISMEJ: "Vitamin auxotrophies shape microbial community assembly on model marine particles." Read more here: link
Rachel Gregor says: This publication describes my main project from my postdoctoral research in Otto Cordero's lab at MIT. Here, we look at B vitamins in marine snow and find a whole world of vitamin dependencies and exchange underpinning community structure. It combines seawater experiments, isolate physiology, and modeling-- there's something for everyone!
This project has been my loyal companion throughout my postdoc, faculty applications, and into my new lab. Fun fact, I've now wrestled with journal submission systems across 3 continents, including on vacation in Thailand (see below photo entitled "Problematic work-life balance").
Two thoughts on the process behind this publication: 1. Science is serendipitous! The seeds for this project were first planted by a virtual seminar on B12 I saw early in my postdoc. Vitamins turned out to be a perfect case study for microbial interactions, with the right amount of chem and bio complexity.
2. Science is a team sport! I learned so many new things from my mentor Otto Cordero and my coauthors, including metagenomics (Rachel Szabo) and modeling (Gabriel Vercelli). And a big thanks to reviewers at ISMEJ for tough but fair feedback that 100% made this work better.
Rachel Gregor says: This publication describes my main project from my postdoctoral research in Otto Cordero's lab at MIT. Here, we look at B vitamins in marine snow and find a whole world of vitamin dependencies and exchange underpinning community structure. It combines seawater experiments, isolate physiology, and modeling-- there's something for everyone!
This project has been my loyal companion throughout my postdoc, faculty applications, and into my new lab. Fun fact, I've now wrestled with journal submission systems across 3 continents, including on vacation in Thailand (see below photo entitled "Problematic work-life balance").
Two thoughts on the process behind this publication: 1. Science is serendipitous! The seeds for this project were first planted by a virtual seminar on B12 I saw early in my postdoc. Vitamins turned out to be a perfect case study for microbial interactions, with the right amount of chem and bio complexity.
2. Science is a team sport! I learned so many new things from my mentor Otto Cordero and my coauthors, including metagenomics (Rachel Szabo) and modeling (Gabriel Vercelli). And a big thanks to reviewers at ISMEJ for tough but fair feedback that 100% made this work better.