Research Outputs

The Palmer Lab is involved in diverse and varied projects associated with evolution and ecology, with a focus on extremophilic archaea and bacteria.

Photo credit: Tiana Steeves

Featured Projects

Filling in the knowledge gaps on microbial dark matter

Large parts of the research pursued in our lab focus on poorly understood microbial lineages. For this purpose, we use cultivation-dependent and -independent approaches for improving our understanding of these dynamic, yet understudied, microbial lineages.

Taxonomy of poorly classified lineages

As taxonomy forms the basis for understanding evolution, heavy focus is placed on the taxonomy of poorly classified microbial lineages in our work. To this end, genome-based taxonomic studies are routinely conducted in our lab, and both the nascent SeqCode and the ICNP are leveraged to name novel taxa and provide taxonomic stability to poorly classified lineages.

Uncovering microbial diversity in Manitoba's saline springs

The dominant microorganisms among hypersaline systems can differ drastically. Although anthropogenic hypersaline environments like solar salterns are globally dominated by prokaryotic members of mainly two classes [Halobacteria (Archaea) and Rhodothermia (Bacteria)] , less is known about the communities inhabiting natural hypersaline springs. With several natural saline springs close at hand, this work aims to uncover the biodiversity captured in these underexplored environments.

Publications

Palmer M., Nou N.O., Turello L.A., Power C.E., Ong J.C., Lai D., Reysenbach A.-L., Qi Y.-L., Dodsworth J.A., Jiao J.-Y., Liu L., Lian Z.-H., Li M.-M., Liu Y., Briggs B.R., Zuo H., Quake S.R., Eloe-Fadrosh E.A., Woyke T., Dong H., Li W.-J., Hua Z., Hedlund B.P. Dynamic evolution of nitrogen cycle and pH homeostasis genes enabled the diversification of Pampinifervens gen. nov. (Aquificaceae). Preprint, Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4032669/v1

Nou N.O., Covington J.K., Lai D., Mayali X., Seymour C.O., Johnston J., Jiao J.-Y., Buessecker S., Mosier D., Muok A.R., Torosian N., Cook A.M., Briegel A., Woyke T., Eloe-Fadrosh E.A., Shapiro N., Bryan S.G., Sleezer S., Dimapilis J., Gonzalez C., Gonzalez L., Noriega M., Hess M., Carlson R.P., Liu L., Li M.-M., Lian Z.-H., Zhu S., Liu F., Sun X., Gao B., Mewalal R., Harmon-Smith M., Blaby I.K., Cheng J.-F., Weber P.K., Grigorean G., Li W.-J., Dekas A.E., Pett-Ridge J., Dodsworth J.A., Palmer M., Hedlund B.P. (2024) Genome-guided isolation of the hyperthermophilic aerobe Fervidibacter sacchari reveals conserved polysaccharide metabolism in the Armatimonadota. Nature Communications 15:9534. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53784-3

Venter, S. N., Rodriguez-R, L. M., Chuvochina, M., Palmer, M., Hugenholtz, P., & Steenkamp, E. T. (2024). Options and considerations for validation of prokaryotic names under the SeqCode. Systematic and Applied Microbiology, 47(6), 126554. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.syapm.2024.126554

Covington J.K., Torosian N., Cook A.M., Palmer M., Bryan S.G., Nou N.O., Mewalal R., Harmon-Smith M., Blaby I.K., Cheng J.-F., Hess M., Brumm P.J., Singh N.K., Venkateswaran K.,Hedlund B.P. (2024) Biochemical characterization of Fsa16295Glu from “Fervidibacter sacchari,” the first hyperthermophilic GH50 with β-1,3-endoglucanase activity and founding member of the subfamily GH50_3. Frontiers in Microbiology, 15:1355444. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1355444

van Lill M., Venter S.N., Muema E.K., Palmer M., Chan W.Y., Beukes C.W., Steenkamp E.T. (2024) SeqCode facilitates naming of South African rhizobia left in limbo. Systematic and Applied Microbiology, 126504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.syapm.2024.126504

Whitman W.B., Chuvochina M., Hedlund B.P., Konstantinidis K.T., Palmer M., Rodriguez-R L.M., Sutcliffe I.C., Wang F. (2024) Why and how to use the SeqCode. mLife, 3:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1002/mlf2.12092

Crosby K.C., Rojas M., Sharma P., Johnson M.A., Mazloom R., Kvitko B.H., Smits T.H.M., Venter S.N., Coutinho T.A., Heath L.S., Palmer M., Vinatzer B.A. (2023) Genomic delineation and description of species and within-species lineages in the genus Pantoea. Frontiers in Microbiology, 14:1254999. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1254999

For all works by Marike Palmer see her ORCID or Google Scholar profile!