National Science Foundation approves $1.3 million for OSU, OU microbes hunt

The Edmond Sun

September 30, 2008 11:31 pm

— The National Science Foundation has approved a $1.3 million grant for researchers at Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma to discover new types of microorganisms in natural habitats. The five-year grant will enable scientists to detect, identify, and isolate unique microorganisms using state-of-the-art molecular biological procedures at a sulfur spring in southwestern Oklahoma.
Pictured above, the sulphur-rich Zodletone Spring gurgles from the ground near Anadarko.
Dr. Mostafa Elshahed, assistant professor in the microbiology and molecular genetics department at Oklahoma State University, and the lead investigator for the grant, said Zodletone Spring, 30 miles west of Anadarko, has several unique features perfect for the study.
“The spring has high sulfide and sulfur concentrations, high levels of gaseous hydrocarbons, and an absence of oxygen that makes it ideal to study and hunt for many of these unique bacteria,” Elsahed said.
The grant also will fund an educational outreach component that will allow high school students to get involved in the project. They will be asked to participate in a summer laboratory to conduct research and present findings at a symposium through the Junior Science and Humanities Symposia at Oklahoma State University.
Elshahed and Caroline Beller, assistant professor of education, are the lead researchers for the project at OSU. Lee Krumholz, associate professor of botany and microbiology, is the lead researcher at the University of Oklahoma. Of the total grant, $800,000 will go to OSU and $500,000 to OU.