COLLABORATION IN BASIC SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (COBASE)

Natalia Kozyrovska's research group

From September 27 through October 11, 2000, Lidija Halda-Alija traveled to Ukraine, where she met with counterparts from the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences Institute for Molecular Biology and Genetics (IMBG) and several other institutions. In collaboration with her primary host, Natalia Kozyrovska, she discussed plans for a joint project on quorum sensing signaling in the rhizosphere of common crops and other monocots. Experiments were also conducted on endophytic and enteric bacteria from the IMBG collection to detect the production of acyl-homoserine lactone, a quorum sensing molecule that mediates population density-dependent gene expression in numerous gram-negative bacteria.

Not enough time was available during the visit to collect enough data for a publication, so Kozyrovska and Halda-Alija have continued the experiments on various bacterial strains at their own labs in order to prepare a manuscript summarizing their findings. They are also preparing a proposal to the National Science Foundation on the topic "Quorum Sensing Signaling and Horizontal Gene Transfer in Wetlands," and they hope to submit it in June 2001. Beyond its value as basic science, their research could have important applications in the use of wetlands for the natural degradation of contaminated wastewater.

In addition to the experiments and discussions that formed the focus of her COBASE-sponsored visit, Halda-Alija presented a lecture on her research at the University of Kiev and stopped off on the way to Ukraine to speak at the University of Delft in the Netherlands. Researchers at the latter institution will also be involved in the planned proposal to NSF.