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Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences

image of Roberta Fulthorpe

Roberta Fulthorpe


Research

The primary focus of my research is on the evolution of bacterial genes for the catabolism of chlorinated organic compounds. I am particularly interested in the mechanisms of genetic exchange that allow the construction of catabolic pathways, and the sharing of degradative capabilities by divergent species. I also have a keen interest in the biogeography of bacteria, something that was previously difficult to study. With the advent of molecular tools we are better able to study the geographic distributions of bacterial strains and their genes, and to ask questions about the links between bacteria and the ecosystems they function in. This has become more important now that chlorinated organic compounds have been proven to be more "natural" than we previously thought, and my research has demonstrated the abundance of chlorinated organic degrading bacteria in pristine ecosystems.

Selected Publications

- Fulthorpe, R. R., L. Roesch, G. Cassella and E. Triplett. 2008. Randomly sampled soils have few bacterial species in common. Journal of the International Society for Microbial Ecology 2(9):901-910

- Roesch, L. Roberta Fulthorpe, Alberto Riva, George Casella, Alison Hadwin, Angela Kent, Samira Daroub, Flavio Camargo, William Farmerie and Eric Triplett. 2007. Pyrosequencing enumerates and contrasts soil microbial diversity. Journal of the International Society for Microbial Ecology 1:283-290.

- Gilbride, K.A. and R. R. Fulthorpe. 2004. A survey of the composition and diversity of bacterial populations in bleached kraft pulp-mill wastewater secondary treatment systems. Canadian Journal of Microbiology 50:633-644.

- Dennis, P, E. Edwards, S.N. Liss, R. Fulthorpe. 2003. Monitoring gene expression in mixed microbial communities using DNA microarrays. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 69(2):769-778.

- Fulthorpe, R. and L.N. Schofield. 1999. A comparison of mineralization of chloroaromatic compounds in agricultural and forest soils. Biodegradation 10:235-244.

- Fulthorpe, R.R., A.N. Rhodes and J.M. Tiedje. 1998. High levels of endemicity apparent in 3-chlorobenzoate degrading soil bacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 64:1620-1627.

- Fulthorpe, R.R., A.N. Rhodes and J.M. Tiedje. 1996. Pristine soils mineralize 3-chlorobenzoate and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid via different microbial populations. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 62(4):1159-1166.

- Fulthorpe, R.R., C. McGowan, O.V. Maltseva, W.H. Holben and J.M. Tiedje. 1995. 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid degrading bacteria: mosaics of catabolic genes. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 61(9):3274-3281.

- Fulthorpe, Roberta R. and R.C. Wyndham. 1991. Transfer and expression of the catabolic plasmid pBRC60 in wild bacterial recipients in a freshwater ecosystem. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 57(5):1546-1553.

- Fulthorpe, R. R. and Eva M. Top. 2009. Evolution of new catalytic functions through gene assembly by mobile genetic elements. Timmis, K and J. R. van der Meer (eds).: Microbiology of Hydrocarbons, Oils, Lipids and Derived Compounds. Springer.

- Febria, C., R.R. Fulthorpe and D.D. Williams. 2009. Characterizing seasonal changes in physicochemistry and bacterial community composition in hyporheic sediments of the Speed River, southern Ontario, Canada. Hydrobiologia, in press.