Welcome to the Environmental Microbiology Research at Missouri S&T!
Anaerobic Microbial Metabolisms
Members the Mormile Lab have studied the biogeochemical cycles in environments that have ranged from the salty alkaline conditions of Soap Lake, Washington to those of a hydrocarbon/arsenic-contaminated Superfund site. The results from these studies can be applied to the development of more efficient bioremediation efforts. In addition, the knowledge gained in these studies can be used to understand the possible anaerobic metabolisms that could be occurring in subsurface environments beyond Earth.
Halophilic / Halotolerant Microorganisms and Their Environments
Salty environments, ranging from salty alkaline Soap Lake to salty acidic lakes in Australia, have provided members of the Mormile Lab with opportunities to discover new species and genera of bacteria with interesting metabolisms. Besides isolating and characterizing new species (and one new genus!) of bacteria, we study the microbial ecology of these environments. We also explore possibilities of using these unique organisms for industrial commodity production.