Associate Professor of Biology

B.S. University of Texas-Austin (2006)
Ph.D. Montana State University (2016)
Postdoctoral Researcher Northern Illinois University (2013-2015)
Postdoctoral Researcher - Bigelow Laboratory of Ocean Sciences (2015-2018)

Office - SET 347; (256)765-4435
Lab - SET 354

Areas of Interest

I am interested in microbial speciation and genetic modes of adaptation. The identification of uncultured Bacterial and Archaeal phyla and their contributions to the evolutionary history of microbial life on Earth. The study of microbial diversity, ecology, and evolution in the context of microbial community structure and function. The co-evolution of microbial partnerships and symbiotic interactions. Microbiology in extreme terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments. Geochemical cycling and the role microorganisms play on a global scale.

Research

Bacteria and archaea live in nearly all environments on Earth, even under what we consider to be some of the most extreme conditions imaginable. The phyla of Eukarya, which include all plant and animal life, compose the least genetically diverse evolutionary branch. In contrast, the unseen world of Bacteria and Archaea represent the overwhelming majority of biological diversity on Earth, and most have yet to be identified or cultured. In all environments microbial diversity organizes into complex ecosystems – populations working together and competing amongst each other for survival. Only recently has it become technologically possible to sequence entire communities and to study the structure and function of these microbial communities in their natural state. Examining how microorganisms evolve and metabolize in their environment is important to understanding our world, and has been the major focus of my research over the past five years at UNA. To answer these questions, I study a broad range of interesting environments ranging from hot springs, the deep subsurface of the Earth, oceans and soils.

Publications (since 2020)

Bedard, D.L.; Van Slyke, G.; Nübel, U.; Bateson, M.M.; Brumfield, S.; An, Y.J.; Becraft, E.D.; Wood, J.M.; Thiel, V.; Ward, D.M. Geographic and Ecological Diversity of Green Sulfur Bacteria in Hot Spring Mat Communities. Microorganisms 2023, 11, 2921. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11122921

Seymour, C.O., Palmer, M., Becraft, E.D. et al. Hyperactive nanobacteria with host-dependent traits pervade Omnitrophota. Nat Microbiol 8, 727–744 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-022-01319-1

Becraft, E. D., & Moya, A. (2022). Editorial: Searching for the Boundaries of Microbial Speciation in a Rapidly Evolving World. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12(808595). https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.808595

Becraft, E. D. (2021). Evolutionary stasis of a deep subsurface microbial lineage. Nature; International Society of Microbial Ecology, online(online), online. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1038/s41396-021-00965-3

Becraft, E. D. (2021). Synthase-Selective Exploration of a Tunicate Microbiome by Activity-Guided Single-Cell Genomics. ACS Chemical Biology, 15(5), 813–819. https://doi.org/10.1021/acschembio.1c00157

Becraft, E. D. (2020). Relationship between Microorganisms Inhabiting Alkaline Siliceous Hot Spring Mat Communities and Overflowing Water. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 86(23), e00194–e00120. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM .00194-20.

Nayfach, S., & Becraft, E. D. (2020). A genomic catalog of Earth’s microbiomes. Nature Communications, 39(N/A), 499–509. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-020-0718-6

Beam, J., & Becraft, E. D. (2020). Ancestral Absence of Electron Transport Chains in Patescibacteria and DPANN. Frontiers in Microbiology, online(online), online. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01848

Dzunkova, M., & Becraft, E. D. (2020). Insights into the dynamics between viruses and their hosts in a hot spring microbial mat. International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME), 14(10), 2527–2541. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1038/s41396-020-0705-4

Chen, M., & Becraft, E. D. (2020). Hiding in Plain Sight: The Globally Distributed Bacterial Candidate Phylum PAUC34f. Frontiers of Microbiology, 11(376), 1–12. https://doi.org/doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00376

Becraft, E. D. (2020). Biogeography of American Northwest Hot Spring A/B′-Lineage Synechococcus Populations. Frontiers of Microbiology, 11(77), 1–17. https://doi.org/doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00077  

Presentations (since 2020)

Yates, N. (student researcher), Harris, B. (student researcher), Becraft, E. D., STEM Poster Session at UNA, "Preliminary Analysis of Tennessee River Bloom at Water Treatment Plant," CASE, SET building, Florence, AL, United States. (November 27, 2023).

Yates, N. (student researcher), Harris, B. (student researcher), Becraft, E. D., South Eastern Branch American Society for Microbiology, "Preliminary Analysis of Tennessee River Bloom at Water Treatment Plant," Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States. (November 4, 2023).

D'Ablaing, T. (student), Linder, B. (student), Becraft, E. D., UNA undergraduate research day, "Symbiosis at the Thermal Boundary of Photosynthesis," UNA, UNA, Florence, AL, United States. (November 2022).

Gilmore, G. (student), Becraft, E. D., American Association of Southeastern Biologists, "Speciation at the Center of the Earth," American Association of Southeastern Biologists, Little Rock conference center, Little Rock, AK, United States. (March 2022).

Linder, B. (student), D'Ablaing, T. (student), Becraft, E. D., American Association of Southeastern Biologists, "Symbiosis at the Thermal Boundary of Photosynthesis," American Association of Southeastern Biologists, Conference center at Little Rock, AK, Little Rock, AK, United States. (March 2022).

Becraft, E. D., Biology department seminar series, "Evolutionary stasis of a deep subsurface microbial lineage," San Diego State University, online, San Diego, CA, United States. (November 8, 2021).

Becraft, E. D., Biology department seminar series, "Evolutionary stasis of a deep subsurface microbial lineage," University of Tennessee at Knoxville, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Knoxville, United States. (August 30, 2021).

Becraft, E. D., metagenomics forum, "Evolutionary stasis of a deep subsurface microbial lineage," online, Florence, AL, United States. (May 2021).

Gardner, C. (presenter / researcher), Huissen, L. (student researcher), Becraft, E. D. (lead investigator), American Society of Microbiology, Southeastern Branch, "Dendrolitic Cone Formation Investigation: Profile from Anoxic Layer of a Californian Geothermal Hot Spring," online, Florence, AL, United States. (March 28, 2021).

Agee, R. (co-author), Becraft, E. D. (lead investigator), South Eastern Branch of the American Society of Microbiology, "An Ocean of Microbial Mystries," University of Alabama, Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, United States. (March 10, 2020).

Hussein, L. (co-lead author), Gardner, C. (co-lead author), Becraft, E. D. (lead investigator), South Eastern Branch for the American Society of Microbiology, "Cone WOR-3: Return of the Reductase," University of Alabama, Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, United States. (March 10, 2020).