Egland, Paul

• Postdoctoral Fellow, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. 

• Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Iowa 

• Ph.D., Microbiology, University of Iowa 

• B.A., Biology, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa

The current project in the England lab uses microbiology and genomics to culture and isolate soil microbes that could turn leftover agricultural materials into valuable products, linking basic microbial research to real-world applications. When corn is processed to make ethanol, most of the accessible carbohydrates are consumed, but the remaining residue, called thin stillage, still contains complex carbohydrates and nitrogen compounds that microbes can use for further growth and bioproduct production. In this project, we will collect soil from corn fields and use it to start cultures it the lab where thin stillage is the only source of carbon and nitrogen. Microbes that can use thin stillage will grow and eventually be isolated as single strains or as defined communities. We will then test them for their ability to break down complex carbohydrates like xylan into simple sugars and to ferment those sugars into ethanol. Once promising microbes are isolated, they will be identified by sequencing the 16S rRNA genes. For organisms that have previously sequenced genomes, genes encoding enzymes of interest will be PCR amplified and cloned. We will express the enzymes in E. coli to confirm their activity. Undergraduate students will be fully involved throughout the project, gaining hands-on experience with lab techniques, experimental planning, data analysis, and scientific communication.