Moran Lab

University of Georgia (USA)

What happens to carbon and sulfur after marine microbes encounter them? Mary Ann Moran investigates how ocean bacteria process and transform organic compounds, and how their interactions with phytoplankton change those transformations. The research includes the formation of gases relevant to climate. Her group combines molecular microbial ecology with ecological genomics, working with both laboratory model systems and natural marine environments. This connects the biology of individual microbial partnerships with larger questions about chemical cycling and the ocean’s role in Earth’s climate.