Amy Grunden
William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor; University Faculty Scholar
Asst. Director, NCARS
Faculty Advisory Board Member
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
919.513.4295 [email protected]Education
Ph.D. Microbiology University of Florida, Gainesville 1996
B.S. Microbiology University of Florida, Gainesville 1993
Area(s) of Expertise
Microbial physiology and Microbial biotechnology
My research program is focused on the study of microorganisms called extremophiles, which are capable of thriving in diverse extreme environmental conditions such as high or low temperatures, high salinity, acidic or alkaline environments. The goals of the extremophile research conducted in my laboratory are first to understand the adaptive mechanisms extremophiles use to survive in harsh environmental conditions and second to exploit these adaptations for biotechnological applications. Research projects currently underway involve using selected extremophile enzymes and synthetic biology approaches to (1) decontaminate toxic organophosphorus-based nerve agents found in some pesticides and chemical warfare agents, (2) generate transgenic plants with increased tolerance to harsh environmental conditions for the purpose of developing plants that can survive in marginal environments, and (3) use extremophile genes to optimize fatty acid pr
Publications
- Assembly and Use of a Plant Gnotobiotic Growth System for Plant–Microbe Interaction Studies in Cereals , Journal of Visualized Experiments (2026)
- Assembly and use of a plant gnotobiotic growth system for plant–microbe interaction studies in cereals , DRYAD (2026)
- From Reactive Remediation to Predictive Prevention: A Systems Synthesis of Global Soil Salinization and Sodicity , Global Change Biology (2026)
- Harnessing Nitrogen Cycle Reactions to Support the Metabolism of Synthetic Urine for Microbially Induced Carbonate Precipitation of Lunar Soil Simulant , ASCE Geo-Congress (2026)
- Plant Species Influence on Microbially Induced Carbonate Precipitation: X-Ray Diffraction Analysis of Mineral Formation and Composition , ASCE Geo-Congress (2026)
- TriMic: a Triticum aestivum microbial culture collection and synthetic community for dissecting wheat-microbe interactions , bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (2026)
- Advances in biomimetic carbonic anhydrase strategies for CO2 capture , Trends in biotechnology (2025)
- Biosensor Advancements for Addressing Agricultural and Environmental Challenges: A Review , Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment (2025)
- Engineering thermphilic enzymes of a synthetic rTCA cycle to increase carbon fixation in plants , SSRN Electronic Journal (2025)
- In vitro demonstration and in planta characterization of a condensed, reverse TCA (crTCA) cycle , Frontiers in Plant Science (2025)