6/8/98
ATHENS, Ohio -- The National Science Foundation has awarded Assistant Professor of Environmental Microbiology Peter Coschigano its highly competitive Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant to fund a study that could ease efforts to clean up certain hazardous spills.
Coschigano and his research team are studying a bacteria strain that metabolizes toluene, a hazardous substance found in gasoline and a widely used industrial solvent. By discovering what enables the strain, currently recognized as "T1," to metabolize toluene, researchers could recommend better methods for disposing the substance and cleaning contaminated sites.
"A practical application for this strain would be in groundwater remediation, where a toluene spill has seeped into the ground and contaminated someone's drinking water," Coschigano says.
Studies involving exposure to humans and animals have shown that toluene, listed by the Environmental Protection Agency as a "priority pollutant," affects memory, learning, concentration and abstract thought. While toluene isn't a carcinogen it does strengthen other carcinogens, such as benzene.
The bacteria strain, found naturally in soil, is not known to have any harmful effects on humans.
Coschigano's five-year CAREER award is for 498,736, which will fund experiments, two graduate assistants, a lab technician and other costs.
Coschigano and his assistants plan to determine which genes in TI prompt the bacteria to use toluene as an energy source and how they work together.
"First and foremost we want to identify the genes in the pathway," Coschigano says. "The most important goal is to figure out exactly how many players there are and try to get an idea of what their roles are."
To do this, the team is doing genetic testing of bacterial strains that cannot metabolize toluene. Using a process of elimination, scientists will identify what gene or genes prompt the bacteria to use toluene. After identifying and analyzing these genes, researchers want to manipulate the them to allow TI to work on toluene more efficiently, which could speed up cleanup efforts.
"If we're actually going to have some potential application of this, then we want to know what makes the genes turn on and what prevents them from turning on," he says. "Then we could turn it on' we want it on and off' when we want it off."
T1 uses toluene without the use of oxygen. This is significant for cleanup efforts because this strain could be applied to spill areas where little or no oxygen is present, such as in groundwater or at the bottoms of lakes or rivers. Most other studies have involved oxygen-using bacteria.
Coschigano began working with this strain while doing postdoctoral work at Rutgers University. His work cloning and characterizing genes, a genetic and molecular approach, is somewhat different from the biochemical approach of other Rutgers researchers, Coschigano says. But he thinks both approaches will result in a better understanding of T1's mechanisms than one approach alone.
"The work that they're doing and the work that I'm doing complement each other," he says. "It seems like things are coming together."
The National Science Foundation provides CAREER grants to young scientists and engineers to help develop their contributions to both research and education. The foundation provides grants to top junior-level faculty at colleges and universities across the country. Grants are for either four or five years and range from $200,000 to $500,000 each. Coschigano is the third faculty member at Ohio University to receive an NSF CAREER grant.
Coschigano, 35, joined Ohio University in January 1996. He teaches general microbiology, microbial physiology and microbial ecology, a cross-disciplinary course he developed last year. He holds an appointment in Ohio University's College of Osteopathic Medicine.