The National Science Foundation had funded the University of Puerto Rico in Humacao to establish a Microbial Observatory (MO) in the Cabo Rojo Salterns in Puerto Rico. The salterns are composed of an estuary surrounded by natural mats that feds a series of artificial salt ponds with seawater.

Main goals

·      understand if the microbial diversity and community structure play a fundamental role in determining the emerging mineralogy of microbial mats

·      determine key metabolic groups that alter the geochemical and physicochemical characteristics of mats sediment, and consequently determine which minerals prevail

·      investigate how salinity changes alter the different microbial mats community and their production of both minerals and unique volatile organic compounds

·      identify the genes and gene products involved in precipitation and dissolution of key minerals·      provide an intensive training for undergraduate students with an interest in the field of Geomicrobiology

Poster presentations at the American Society for Microbiologist 108^th General Meeting to be held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Boston MA . June 1 to June 5, 2008.

Welcome!!

Dr. Massimiliano Marvasi is back at the UPR-Humacao

To student Lorraine Rodriguez for being accepted at Cornell University in the Food Science program.