K. Eric Wommack

Biography:

I probably knew from before I could walk that I wanted to be a marine scientist. I was born under the astrological sign of Pisces, the fish. According to my mother, as an infant I crawled into the neighborhood pool, sank to the bottom for a few terrifying seconds and came out smiling and happy. At the age of nine I was disappointed to learn that I had to wait six long years before I could be come a certified diver. But, without a doubt, the life event that cemented my interest in marine science was my first visit to a Bahamian coral reef at the age of 15. Each summer for the succeeding seven years, I worked in the Florida Keys at a national Boy Scouts of America high adventure camp, known at the Florida Sea Base.

After finishing my undergraduate studies at Emory University, I never looked back at life in the burgeoning city of Atlanta, but headed off to St. Andrews University, Scotland through the generous support of a Bobby Jones scholarship. As the official home golf and the Gatty Marine lab, the University of St. Andrews offered me rich life experiences that I cherish to this day. Under the advisement of Dr. Ian Johnson, I completed an M. Sc. thesis studying the relationship between muscle proteins and temperature adaptations in fish. While I enjoyed my studies on the muscle physiology of fish, I knew that I wanted to pursue field-based research on the diversity and ecology of marine microorganisms.

This desire brought me to the laboratory of the world-renowned marine microbiologist, Rita R. Colwell at the University of Maryland. Just before coming to Dr. Colwell’s lab in the newly formed Center of Marine Biotechnology (COMB), the seminal 1989 paper by Bergh et al. reporting the astounding abundance of viruses in marine environments appeared in the journal, Nature. This discovery drove my dissertation research and to this day, I continue to be fascinated by the astounding abundance, diversity, and ecological impact of viruses and viral infection within the microbial communities that sustain the biosphere.

After finishing my dissertation research, I branched out from marine science into the terrestrial realm of soil microbial ecology. Through the support of a National Research Council Post-Doctoral Fellowship and under the mentorship of David Lewis and Wayne Garrison, at the US EPA; and Robert Hodson, at the University of Georgia I was involved in a project to characterize soil bacteria capable of degrading a chiral pesticide. In January, 2001, I joined the faculty of the University of Delaware through joint appointments in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and the Graduate College of Marine Studies. My collaborations with both soil and marine scientists has enabled me to cross traditional boundaries between terrestrial and marine research and expanded the scope of my work to include investigations in both aquatic (water and sediments) and soil environments.

Research Focus:

The varied research interests of my lab are connected through the creative use of molecular genetic tools to investigate population-level processes occurring in microbial communities. Primary among these interests are investigations on the role of viruses and viral infection in microbial communities. Current projects seek to understand to what extent viral infection influences the composition and diversity of bacterial and phytoplankton host communities. In the course of this research we are examining virus populations throughout the biosphere including estuarine and oceanic waters, aquatic sediments, agricultural and forested soils, and the deep sea hydrothermal vents.

Publications:

Helton, R.R., L. Liu, and K.E. Wommack. 2006. Assessment of factors influencing direct enumeration of viruses within estuarine sediments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72:4767-4774.

Chen, F., K. Wang, J. Kan, M.T. Suzuki, and K.E. Wommack. 2006. Diverse and unique picocyanobacteria found in the Chesapeake Bay, revealed by 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer sequences. Appl. Environ. Micro 72:2239-2243.

Hewson, I., D.M. Winget, K.E. Williamson, J.E. Fuhrman, and K.E. Wommack. 2006. Viral and bacterial assemblage of covariance in oligotrophic waters of the West Florida Shelf (Gulf of Mexico). J. Mar. Biol. Ass. UK 86:1-13

Helton, R.R., M.T. Cottrell, D.L. Kirchman, K.E. Wommack. 2005. Evaluation of incubation-based methods for estimating virioplankton production in estuaries. Aquat. Microb. Ecol. 41:209-219.

Winget, D.M., K.E. Williamson, R.R. Helton, K.E. Wommack. 2005. Tangential flow diafiltration: an improved technique for estimation of virioplankton production. Aquat. Microb. Ecol. 41:221-232.

Bettarel, Y., J. Kan, K. Wang, K. Williamson, S. Cooney, S. Ribblett, F. Chen, K.E. Wommack, and D.W. Coats. 2005. Isolation and preliminary characterization of a small nuclear inclusion virus infecting the diatom Chaetoceros C.F. gracilis. Aquat. Microb. Ecol. 40:103-114.

Williamson, K.E., M. Radosevich and K.E. Wommack. 2005. Abundance and Diversity of Bacteriophages in Six Delaware Soils. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71:3119-3125.

Radosevich, M., K.E. Williamson, and K.E. Wommack. 2005. Bacteriophage. p. 122-129 In: Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment. D. Hillel, C. Rosenweig, D. Powlson, K. Skow, M. Singer, and D.L. Sparks eds., Elsiver, LTD.

Wommack, K.E. , S.J. Williamson, A. Sundbergh, R.R. Helton, B.T. Glazer, K. Portune, and S.C. Cary. 2004. An instrument for collecting discrete large-volume water samples suitable for ecological studies of microorganisms. Deep-Sea Res. I. 51:1781-1792.

Williamson, K.E., K.E. Wommack, and M. Radosevich. 2003. Sampling natural viral communities from soil for culture-independent analyses. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69:6628-6633.

Yager, P.L. T.L. Connelly, B. Mortazavi, K.E. Wommack, N. Bano, J.E. Bauer, S. Opsahl, and J.T. Hollibaugh. 2001. Dynamic microbial response to an Arctic algal bloom at sub-zero temperatures. Limnol. & Oceanogr. 46:790-801.

Wommack, K.E., and R.R. Colwell. 2000. Virioplankton: Viruses in aquatic environments. Microb. Molec. Biol. Rev. 64:69-114. Lewis D.L., A.W. Garrison, K.E. Wommack, A. Whittemore, P. Steudler, J. Melillo. 1999. Influence of environmental changes on degradation of chiral pollutants in soils. Nature (London) 401:898-901

Wommack, K.E. , J. Ravel, R.T. Hill, J. Chun and R.R. Colwell. 1999. Population dynamics of Chesapeake Bay virioplankton: Total community analysis using pulsed field gel electrophoresis. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65:231-240.

Wommack, K.E., J. Ravel, R.T. Hill, and R.R. Colwell. 1999. Hybridization analysis of Chesapeake Bay virioplankton. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65:241-250.

Wommack, K.E., T.A. Muller, R.T. Hill, and R.R. Colwell. 1995. Effects of sunlight on viral infectivity and structure. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 62: 1336-1341.

Wommack, K.E., R.T. Hill, and R.R. Colwell. 1995. A simple method for the concentration of viruses from natural water samples. J. Microbiol. Meth. 22: 57-67.

Wommack, K.E., R.T. Hill, M. Kessel, E. Russek-Cohen, and R.R. Colwell. 1992. Distribution of viruses in the Chesapeake Bay. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 58: 2965-2970.

Crockford, T., K.E. Wommack, I.A. Johnston, B.J. McAndrew, G. Mutungi, and T.P. Johnston. 1991. Inter- and intra-specific variation in myosin light chain and troponin I composition in fast muscle fibres from two species of fish (genus Oreochromis) which have different temperature-dependent contractile properties. J. of Mus. Res. and Cell Motil. 12:439-446.

Presentations:

Helton, R.R., K.M. Ritalahti, T.E. Hanson, F.E. Löffler, and K.E. Wommack. 2006. Detection and analysis of prophage integrases in dechlorinating bacterial populations. International Symposium for Microbial Ecology, Vienna, Austria.

Helton, R.R., and K.E. Wommack. 2006. The methodology of viral extraction from sediments. The Scientific Committee for Oceanographic Research (SCOR)-working group on marine viruses., The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Kan, J., T. Hanson, C. Cary, K.E. Wommack, R. Hill, F. Chen. 2006. Community proteomics, a new way to explore microbial functions in natural environments. American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Summer Meeting, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

O’Mara, K. J., K. Wang, J. Kan, S. Bench, T. Hanson, K.E. Wommack, F. Chen. 2006. Genetic diversity and seasonal patterns of cyanophage psbA gene in the estuarine environment revealed by a newly designed PCR primer set. American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Summer Meeting, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Helton, R.R., and K.E. Wommack. 2006. Examination of Viral Diversity in Chesapeake Bay Sediments. American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Summer Meeting, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Helton, R.R., and K.E. Wommack. 2005. Exploring the nanoworld of marine and estuarine sediment viruses. Plant and Soil Science Graduate Student Symposium, University of Delaware, Newark, DE.

Kan, J., T.E. Hanson, B. Campbell, C.C. Cary, K.E. Wommack, R. Hill, and F. Chen. 2005. Meta-proteomics, a new way to explore microbial function in natural environments. HUPO 4th Annual World Congress, Munich, Germany

Helton, R.R., K. Wang, J. Kan, D.M. Winget, and K.E. Wommack. 2005. What Lies Beneath: Chesapeake Bay Viriobenthos Diversity and Abundance. American Society for Microbiology, Atlanta, GA. #N-021. Poster presentation.

Helton, R.R., and K.E. Wommack. 2004. Bacteriophages of the Chesapeake Bay sediments: abundance and morphologies of the most copious form of microbial life. International Symposium for Microbial Ecology, Cancun, Mexico. Abstract page #63. Poster presentation.

Williamson S.J., K.E. Williamson, R.R. Helton, and K.E. Wommack. 2004. Lysogenic virus-host interactions predominate in deep-sea diffuse-flow hydrothermal vent environments. International Symposium for Microbial Ecology, Cancun, Mexico. Abstract page #362. Poster presentation.

Helton, R.R., J.E. Maier, and K.E. Wommack. 2004. Extraction of virus like particles (VLPs) from sediments from oligohaline, mesohaline and polyhaline zones within the Chesapeake Bay. American Society for Microbiology, New Orleans, LA. #N-214.

Wommack, K. E. and F. Chen. 2004. Diversity and community composition of virioplankton over an annual biological cycle of the Chesapeake Bay. Ocean Research Conference, Hawaii.

Wommack, K.E., K.E. Williamson, D.M. Winget, R.R. Helton, S. Bench, F. Chen, K. Wang, J Kan, D. W. Coats, S. Cooney, and Y. Bettarel. 2003. Microbial Observatory for Virioplankton Ecology (MOVE): The role of viruses in the annual biological cycle of the Chesapeake Bay. NSF Microbial Observatories Workshop, Arlington, VA.

Helton, R.R., M.T. Cottrell, D.L Kirchman, and K.E. Wommack. 2003. A comparison of three incubation-based methods for estimation of bacteriophage production in the Chesapeake and Delaware bays. American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D.C. #N-149.

Wommack, K.E., K.E. Williamson, D.M. Winget, R. White, R.R. Helton, and D.L. Kirchman. 2003. An improved method for estimation of virioplankton production. Ocean Sciences Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT. #CS-21.

Wommack, K.E., R.R. Helton, M.T Cottrell, and D.L. Kirchman. 2002. Viral and protistian control of bacterioplankton production over an oxic to anoxic gradient in Chesapeake Bay water column. Ocean Sciences Meeting, Honolulu, HI. #OS11i-11.

Wommack, K. E., F. Chen, and R. E. Hodson. 2000. Marine diazotroph ecology: development of a molecular genetic in situ detection method. The 5th International Marine Biotechnology Conference, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

Wommack, K. E., F. Chen and R. E. Hodson. 2000. A rapid method for obtaining the complete nucleotide coding sequence for nifH. DOE BI-OMP Workshop, Tallahassee, Florida.

Wommack, K. E., F. Chen and R. E. Hodson. 1999. Nitrogenase in marine Vibrio. ASLO meeting, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Invited presentations:

International

July, 2006. Practical Workshop on Virus Ecology Methods, Marine Biological Association of the UK, Plymouth

June, 2005. Second SCOPE meeting on Microbial Environmental Genomics, Shanghi, China, Declined

April, 2005. How well do cultivated algal viruses reflect virioplankton genotypic diversity? 4th Algal Virus Workshop, Amsterdam, Netherlands

August, 2004. Viruses in Soils: The first terrestrial viral metagenome. Tenth Symposium of the International Society for Microbial Ecology, Cancun, Mexico

April, 2004. Virioplankton: a key component of the annual biological cycle of the Chesapeake Bay. Laboratoire d'Océanographie de Villefranche-sur-mer. Villefranche-sur-mer, France

April, 2004. Virioplankton: a key component of the annual biological cycle of the Chesapeake Bay. Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research. Texel, Netherlands.

March, 2003. Virioplankton and the biological paradigms of the sea. Commission Internationale pour l'Exploration Scientifique de la mer Méditerranée Workshop on the Ecology of Marine Viruses. Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls s/mer, France.

National

September, 2004. Virioplankton: a key component of the annual biological cycle of the Chesapeake Bay, National Science Foundation, Microbial Observatories Principal Investigator’s meeting, Big Sky, Montana

August, 2004. Annual biological cycle of virioplankton diversity in the Chesapeake Bay. American Society for Microbiology: New Phage Biology Meeting, Key Biscayne, Florida

June, 2003. Viral Ecology: The influence and effect of viruses within microbial communities. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Prognostic Epidemiology Workshop. Arlington, VA.

October, 1999. Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Branch of the American Society for Microbiology, Jekyll Island, GA.

October, 2000. Department of Oceanography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL

April, 1999. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.

March, 1999. Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Savannah, GA.

October, 1996. The beneficial and detrimental effects of indigenous viruses on the marine ecosystem: "The little engine that could." 31st Annual Tri-Branch Meeting, American Society for Microbiology, Boxborough, MA.

March, 1996. Baruch Institute for Marine Biology and Coastal Research, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.

Regional

November, 2005. Invited speaker. Viruses throughout the year: Seasonal dynamics of Chesapeake Bay Virioplankton. Lincoln University

October, 2005. University of Maryland Graduate program in Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences, Keynote Speaker, Annual Graduate Symposium, Baltimore, MD

October, 2003. Virioplankton: Newest players in the annual biological cycle of the Chesapeake. Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

March, 2002. Tools for Examination of Virioplankton Ecology. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Edgewater, Maryland.

March, 2001. Impacts and consequences of viral infection in marine microbial communities. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, VA

January, 1997. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD.

November, 1995. The ecological role of viroplankton: A molecular approach. DuPont Central Research and Development Experimental Station, Wilmington, DE.

Local

March, 2004. Phages under our pheet: Diversity, abundance and composition of soil viral communities. Dept. of Plant & Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware

November, 2001. Ecological role of viruses in microbial communities. Chemistry-Biology Interface program, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware

May, 2001. Molecular tools: a window into microbial ecology. Delaware Biotechnology Institute; University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware

March, 2001. The Biogeochemistry of Viral Infection. Dept. of Plant & Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware

September, 2000. College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE