University of Toronto Department of Geology
Microbial Geochemistry Laboratory
www.geomicrobiology.ca
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Graduate Students Jennifer Kyle |
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Postdocotral Fellows
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Research Assistants
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Alumni Postdoctoral Fellows
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Vernon Phoenix
Fieldwork at El tatio Geyser field, Chile.
Vern joined the lab as a postdoctoral fellow in 2001, after completing a BSc in geology at Aberystwyth (UK) and an MSc and PhD at Leeds (UK). Vern’s research interests range from understanding the impact of bacteria on the geochemistry of natural environments, to investigating survival mechanisms utilized by phototrophs on the hostile early Earth.
Vern is particularly interested in studying the role of the bacterial surface as a reactive interface. Adsorption of metal cations by the cell surface can significantly mediate the transport and fate of metals in aqueous systems and the cell surface can act as a nucleation site for mineral precipitation. Furthermore, dissolution of minerals by bacteria can require contact between cell and mineral surfaces. It is therefore pertinent to quantify how the reactivity of the cell surface mediates these processes. These studies can also reveal insights into fossilization of microorganisms.
His interest in early phototroph survival stemmed from his PhD, where he utilized modern day hot springs and laboratory microcosms to evaluate the role of silicification as a potential shield against UV radiation. Vern’s research interests in this area continues today. These studies help us to understand how the early cyanobacteria (the oxygen producers responsible for our oxic atmosphere) could photosynthesize whilst avoiding the catastrophic levels of UV which were present in the early Precambrian.
Vern is also interested in utilizing synchrotron based techniques to probe bacteria-metal-mineral interactions. In a recent collaboration Vern used synchrotron based Fourier transform infrared analysis of laboratory silicified cells to provide insights into both the mechanisms of bacterial silicification and the bacterial response to silicification. Such studies provide insights into the biomineralization process, applicable to environments such as modern hot-springs and the Precambrian oceans.
Vern is currently an RCUK Academic Fellow at the Department of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow (UK).
http://www.ges.gla.ac.uk/staff/vphoenix