Bethanie Edwards Email & Phone Number

Berkeley, Ca, Us

Berkeley, Ca

By pairing integrated meta-omics with microbial and chemical oceanography, the Edwards lab explores microbial interactions, metabolic processes, and chemical turnover rates in the lab and at sea. We are particularly interested in carbon export, the Biological Pump, and the impact of marine microbes on particle dynamics as particles form in the surface ocean and disaggregate at depth. Our lab studies a wide range of marine microbes: viruses, bacteria, phytoplankton, and microzooplankton.Lipidomic analysis is my area of expertise, allowing for the quantification of a wide range of lipid species in culture and in seawater. Lipids are most recognized for their structural role within cellular membranes and utility as fuel. However, our lab uses lipidomics to look at biomarkers of community composition, cellular stress, and environmental conditions in marine systems.

As a postdoc in Ed Delong's lab at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, I used meta-genomic and meta-transcriptomic analysis to explore the microbial communities colonizing particles that reach 4000m in North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.

I am investigating lipid derived infochemical signaling between marine microbes and the impact of such mechanisms on ocean biogeochemistry. More specifically, I am focused on developing lipidomics techniques to query infochemical signaling pathways in culture and in the environment.

My general research interests include microbial oceanography and the biogeochemistry of sinking particles in the ocean. My doctoral work has focused on understanding how infochemicals produced by diatoms impact the microbial loop and in turn the ocean carbon and silica cycles. Oxylipins are lipid derived infochemicals produced by diatoms upon grazing or when the cell is under nutrient stress. Oxylipins represent a large diversity of molecules, ranging from small polyunsaturated aldehydes (C7-C10) to long chain fatty acids (C20:5) with one to two oxygens, including many structural isomers. Several compounds within the oxylipin class are known to be bioactive, impacting growth rate, metabolic rate, and reproductive success of organisms across the Bacterial and Eukaryotic domains of life. The objectives of my thesis have been a) understanding the impact of oxylipins on particle associated marine bacteria and the chemical reactions that they mediate b) developing a streamline, untargeted lipidomics method that captures the diversity of lipid compounds produced in marine samples c) describing the lipidomic response of several model diatoms to oxidative stress, nutrient stress, growth phase, and grazing d) profiling in situ oxylipin concentrations across dynamic biogeochemical gradients.

I worked with Eric Webb's lab group on a project investigating transparent exopolymer particle production by various strains of the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Crocosphaera watsonii.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Phd), Chemical Oceanography

Activities and Societies: Lean In Circle Moderator, Steering Committee for Society of Women in Marine Science, Planning Committee for Path.

Bachelor Of Arts (Ba), Biochemistry And Molecular Biology

Activities and Societies: Phi Beta Kappa, Hendrix College Cheerleading, Multicultural Diversity Committee.