Staff profiles
Karen HoughtonLead Scientist - Microbiology Laboratory
Biography
Karen is the Lead Scientist for the Microbiology Laboratory. Her research focuses on the microbial ecology of groundwater, investigating microbiome interactions and biogeochemical cycling. She studies groundwater environmental processes and biodiversity, using cultivation, isolation and characterisation of microorganisms; and DNA extraction, sequencing and analysis.
Qualifications
- BSc Hons, Cell Biology
- MPhil, Microbiology
- PhD, Microbiology
Areas of expertise
- Molecular Microbiology: Geomicrobiology
- Molecular Microbiology: molecular biology
- Molecular Microbiology: Microbial Ecology
Major Publications
See all publications
- Saltwater intrusion impacts microbial diversity and function in groundwater ecosystems, The Open Microbiology Journal 17(1): 13 p. ; article e187428582306190. DOI: 10.2174/18742858-v17-230720-2023-2. 13 p. ; article e187428582306190
- Thermophilic methane oxidation is widespread in Aotearoa - New Zealand geothermal fields, Frontiers in Microbiology 14: DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1253773.
- Temperature-gradient incubation isolates multiple competitive species from a single environmental sample, Access Microbiology 2(3): DOI: 10.1099/acmi.0.000081.
- Thermophilic methanotrophs : in hot pursuit, FEMS Microbiology Ecology 95(9): DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiz125.
- Interaction between ferruginous clay sediment and an iron-reducing hyperthermophilic Pyrobaculum sp. in a terrestrial hot spring, FEMS Microbiology Ecology 94(11): article fiy160. DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiy160. article fiy160
- Mixotrophy drives niche expansion of verrucomicrobial methanotrophs, The ISME journal 11(11): p. 2599-2610. p. 2599-2610
- Thermorudis pharmacophila sp. nov., a novel member of the class Thermomicrobia isolated from geothermal soil, and emended descriptions of Thermomicrobium roseum, Thermomicrobium carboxidum, Thermorudis peleae and Spha, International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 65(12): p. 4479-4487. DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.000598. p. 4479-4487
- Ether- and ester-bound iso-diabolic acid and other lipids in members of Acidobacteria subdivision 4, Applied and Environmental Microbiology 80(17): p. 5207-5218. DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01066-14. p. 5207-5218
- Thermoflavifilum aggregans gen. nov. sp. nov., a thermophilic and slightly halophilic filamentous bacterium from the phylum Bacteroidetes, International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 64(4): p. 1264-1270. DOI: 10.1099/ijs.0.057463-0. p. 1264-1270
- Pyrinomonas methylaliphatogenes gen. nov. sp. nov., a novel group 4 thermophilic Acidobacteria from geothermal soils, International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 64(1): p. 220-227. DOI: 10.1099/ijs.0.055079-0. p. 220-227
- Chthonomonas calidirosea gen. nov., sp. nov., an aerobic, pigmented, thermophilic micro-organism of a novel bacterial class, Chthonomonadetes classis nov., of the newly described phylum Armatimonadetes originally designated candidate , International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 61(10): p. 2482-2490. DOI: 10.1099/ijs.0.027235-0. p. 2482-2490