Exploring Environmental
Foundations
Professor Michael Sadowsky, a fellow in the prestigious American Academy of
Microbiology, is internationally known and respected for his research work in the area of
environmental microbiology. He currently is co-director of the Microbial and Plant Genomics
Institute. He has published more than 100 original articles, and his work is widely cited by
researchers in several scientific disciplines.
A professor in the University's department of Soil, Water and Climate, and
The BioTechnology Institute, Sadowsky has been studying the symbiotic relationship between
leguminous plants and rhizobial soil bacteria. He has focused on a process called 'nodulation' by
which bacteria form root nodules and help fix nitrogen in these plants, allowing them to thrive and
reproduce in nutrient-poor soil in the absence of added nitrogen fertilizers. Sadowsky's recent
research involving photosynthetic Bradyrhizobium bacteria was recently highlighted in Science
magazine and his work has suggested that there are several ways that bacteria can form
nodules in the symbiotic relationship, a finding with important agricultural implications.
One of Sadowsky's major research efforts has been directed towards the identification
and characterization of bacterial genes and metabolic pathways involved in the biodegradation of
chlorinated herbicides. He has used whole genome sequencing and other molecular tools to define
the structure and function of atrazine catabolic genes in bacteria. Working in collaboration with
Dr. Larry Wackett, Sadowsky has also used recombinant DNA techniques to construct novel
biodegradation pathways in bacteria and plants to remediate environmental pollutants.
Sadowsky's methods for determining sources of fecal bacteria in water have been
widely published and received mention in an issue of Time magazine as a key contribution to
environmental microbiology. The ability to distinguish the sources of fecal contamination is
important both in assessing possible health risks and in facilitating effective clean-up strategies.
Sadowsky is leading a group of researchers in the development of high-throughput and robotic
methods of analyzing water, sand and sediment samples to determine sources of fecal bacteria.
"Current methodologies used by regulatory agencies only determine if fecal
bacteria are contaminating waterways and not where the bacteria come from,"
says Sadowsky. "The assumption is that elevated fecal counts come from human
sewage, and thus there is a health risk. Our data and those of others have
shown that there are many potential input sources of E. coli in waterways and
that, in many instances, wild animals, soils, and even algae can contribute to
elevated fecal counts."
SADOWSKY HOME PAGE
Click here to visit Michael Sadowsky's Home Page
