Maribeth Watwood  

Professor, Department Chair              
Phone: 928-523-9322
Email: Maribeth.Watwood@nau.edu
Office: Bldg. 21 room 229
Personal website 

Research/teaching interests

• biodegradation of organic compounds
• soil microbial ecology
• bioremediation
• nutrient cycling
• wetland ecology

Academic highlights

• Chair, Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University 2006-present
• Professor of Microbiology, Northern Arizona University 2003-present
• Professor of Microbiology, Idaho State University 1991-2003
• NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 1987-1991
• PhD Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 1987
• BS Microbiology, University of Georgia , Athens , G A, 1981

Our laboratory uses a variety of molecular and functional methods to estimate species diversity, examine how microbial communities interact with various environmental components, and explore linkages between community structure and function.

We are also actively developing new techniques to detect specific microbial activities in the environment.

We have been involved in research relating to the bioremediation of chlorinated solvents for over a decade, and a major thrust of this research has been to develop and assess enzyme activity-dependent probes specific for enzymes involved in the aerobic cometabolism of solvents, such as trichloroethylene. 

We are also investigating microbial communities and their roles in nutrient cycling in environments such as Fossil Creek, a travertine stream in central Arizona.

Specifically, we are using real time PCR to estimate gene copy number for genes involved in nitrogen transformations and linking this information to shifts in microbial communities.  Ultimately we hope to relate this data to process level measurements.

I am also a mentor in the NSF IGERT graduate training program; NAU’s IGERT PhD program seeks to identify key links between genes and the environment and is designed to train exceptional graduate students in molecular genetics, environmental sciences, and spatio-temporal modeling.

Selected publications

Lee, M.H., Clingenpeel, S.C., Leiser, O.P., Wymore, R.A., Sorenson, Jr., K.S., and M.E. Watwood. 2008. Activity-Dependent Labeling of Oxygenase Enzymes in a Trichloroethene-Contaminated Groundwater Site. Environmental Pollution 153 (1): 238-246.

Wymore, R.A., M.H. Lee, W.K. Keener, A.R. Miller, F.S. Colwell, M.E. Watwood, and K.S. Sorenson, Jr.  2007. Filed Evidence for Intrinsic Aerobic Chlorinated Ethene Cometabolism by Methanotrophs Expressing sMMO. Bioremediation Journal 11(3): 125-139.

Lee, M.H., J.L. Keams, D.W. Helzer, O.P. Leiser, S.A. Connon, T.A. Magnuson and M.E. Watwood. 2007. Characterization of viral and prokaryotic communities in Alvord Desert Hot Springs, Oregon. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 48:19-26.

Gresham, T. L., P. P. Sheridan, M. E. Watwood, Y. Fujita, and F. S. Colwell. 2007. Design and validation of ureC-based primers for groundwater detection of urea-hydrolyzing bacteria. Geomicrobiology Journal. 24:353-364.