Matters Microbial #92: Microbial Metabolism in Extreme Places May 22, 2025

Today, Dr. Valerie DeAnda Torres, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Cell Science at the University of Florida (and National Geographic Explorer), joins the #QualityQuorum to tell us about the research her team does, studying the evolution of metabolic pathways in extreme environments . . . and why these are important to geochemical cycling.

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Valerie DeAnda Torres

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Links for this episode

• The Etsy vendor making the beautiful microbial pins I have mentioned.
•  A link to Sebastian Cocobia’s site where the beautiful E. coli strains I referenced can be obtained. 
• The beauty and mystery of Paenibacillus colonies.
• A video showing a colony of Myxococcus consuming a colony of E. coli.
• A fun video of tardigrades singing “Happy birthday” by a former undergraduate student of mine, Dr. Jake Shaffer.
• The National Geographic Explorer program, which includes Dr. DeAnda Torres. 
• The deep sea submersible Alvin, in which Dr. DeAnda Torres has dived! 
• An overview of methanogenesis, one of the pathways that Dr. DeAnda Torres’ research group studies.
• A review of biogeochemical cycles in the deep ocean.
• The work of my former undergraduate research student, Dr. Paula Welander, on membrane biosignatures in ancient rocks.
• A recent review of the Asgard archaea, that may be our ancient ancestors.
• Some recent work by Dr. DeAnda Torres and collaborators on the Asgard archaea.
• One of the research cruises in which Dr. DeAnda Torres participated.
• During one cruise that included an Alvin dive to a hydrothermal vent, Dr. DeAnda Torres and scientists working with her described their work in this livestream partially in Spanish.
• Dr. DeAnda Torres will be part of some upcoming collaborative research cruises, seen here.
• Here is an article and video describing some of the collaborative work Dr. DeAnda Torres carries out, studying microbial breakdown of PFAS chemicals in marine sediment.
• A link to the faculty website of Dr. DeAnda Torres.
• A link to the research website of the DeAnda Torres group.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

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