Short, Steven

Biology
(905) 828-3996
steven.short@utoronto.ca
http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/~w3bio/faculty_and_research/short.htm
Research & Expertise Keywords: 
aquatic viruses, phytoplankton, environmental microbiology, microbial ecology, microbial food webs, molecular biololgy

Full Research Description:
Research Interests:

My research focuses on the molecular ecology of aquatic microorganisms. As the major primary producers in freshwater and marine ecosystems, phytoplankton are key components of aquatic food webs and biogeochemical cycles. Moreover, the discovery of abundant viruses in all aquatic environments suggest that they are important agents of phytoplankton mortality. Thus, my research focuses on the role of viruses in phytoplankton population and community ecology. To better understand the complex interactions of phytoplankton and their viruses, I use quantitative molecular techniques to examine their community composition and dynamics in natural environments and laboratory cultures.

Representative Publications:

Short SM, Short CM. 2008. The Diversity of algal viruses in various North American freshwater environments. Aquatic Microbial Ecology: in press.

Short SM, Zehr, JP. 2007. Nitrogenase gene expression in the Chesapeake Bay estuary. Environmental Microbiology, 9 (6): 1591-1596.

Short SM, Zehr JP. 2005. Quantitative analysis of nifH genes and transcripts from aquatic environments. Methods in Enzymology, 397: 380-394.

Brussaard CPD, Short SM, Frederickson CM, Suttle CA. 2004. Isolation and phylogenetic analysis of novel viruses infecting the phytoplankter Phaeocystis globosa (Prymnesiophyceae). Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 70: 3700-3705.

Short SM, Jenkins BD, Zehr JP. 2004. Spatial and temporal distribution of two diazotrophic bacteria in the Chesapeake Bay. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 70: 2186-2192.

Comeau AM, Short SM, Suttle CA. 2004. The use of degenerate-primed random amplification of polymorphic DNA (DP-RAPD) for strain-typing and inferring the genetic similarity among closely related viruses. Journal of Virological Methods, 118: 95-100.

Frederickson CM, Short SM, Suttle CA. 2003. The physical environment affects cyanophage communities in British Columbia inlets. Microbial Ecology,46: 348-357.

Short SM, Suttle CA. 2003. Temporal dynamics of natural communities of marine algal viruses and eukaryotes. Aquatic Microbial Ecology,32: 107-119.

Short SM, Suttle CA. 2002.Sequence analysis of marine virus communities reveals groups of related algal viruses are widely distributed in nature. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 68: 1290-1296.

Short SM, Suttle CA. 2000. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis resolves virus sequences amplified with degenerate primers. Biotechniques, 28: 20-26.

Short SM, Suttle CA. 1999. The use of polymerase chain reaction and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis to study diversity in natural virus communities. Hydrobiologia, 401: 19-32.