MO BIO Laboratories, Inc. announces Microbiome Awards winners

CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- MO BIO Laboratories, Inc. is proud to announce the winners of the MO BIO Microbiome Awards, which provide young, extraordinary scientists with funding and recognition to carry out scientific work in the field of microbiome research. MO BIO is honored to partner with the EMP consortium to supply sample analysis, including nucleic acid extraction (using MO BIO products) and targeted amplicon analysis (16S rDNA) to this year's three Microbiome Award winners:

-First place: Carl Rothfels of Duke University. The goal of Dr. Rothfels' project is to understand the symbiotic relationship between aquatic ferns of the genus Azolla and the microbiome housed within the chambers of its leaves, which provides the fern with extraordinary nitrogen-fixation abilities and the ability to remediate water contaminated with high concentrations of heavy metals and other toxins. The results of this microbiome project will provide the first comprehensive picture of Azolla "superorganism" symbiosis.

-Second place: Craig McConnel of Colorado State University. Dr. McConnel's project will focus on dairy cattle, which harbor and shed large quantities of Escherichia coli 0157:H7, a chief source of microbial contamination in dairy, meat and agricultural products. A better understanding of the microbial communities of shedding and non-shedding dairy cows will lead to mitigation strategies that limit bovine dissemination of O157:H7 on dairies, reducing contamination of the human food chain and subsequent human infection.

-Third place: Arwyn Edwards of the Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University. Dr. Edwards' research centers on glaciers and ice-sheets, which are neglected but vital microbial habitats. This microbiome project seeks to capture the endangered microbiomes of glacial systems worldwide. Outcomes of the project, coupled with outreach activity, will help re-cast the discourse pertaining to the consequences of glacier loss in endangering microbial biodiversity.

For more information, visit the Microbiome Awards website (www.microbiomeproject.com) or call 800-606-6246.

MO BIO Laboratories, Inc. (www.mobio.com) has developed innovative tools for researchers in molecular biology since 1993. A global leader in solutions for soil and microbial nucleic acid purification, MO BIO's focus is quality products that work, save time, and function for all sample types, not just the easy ones. It is MO BIO's aim to make researchers' working lives more productive and efficient, creating time to focus on what is critical, not just in work, but in life.

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