Aaron Young
2538 McCarthy Mall, Snyder Hall 111
Honolulu, HI 96822
(808) 956-6945 (phone)
(808) 956-5339 (fax)
agyoung@hawaii.edu

Education

B.S. Biology     2007    University of Hawaii at Manoa

Research Summary

I am currently studying the gliding, filamentous bacterium Saprospira grandis.  This bacterium can be found on the shores of Hawaii and is a member of the flexibactericaea group.  Saprospira are known to be gliding bacteria that prey on other bacteria by trapping and devouring them.  This process has become known as “ixotrophy.”  Saprospira has also been shown to digest algae by the same process, which makes this bacterium useful in combating harmful algal blooms.  Another striking feature is the abundant presence of rod-shaped structures within the cells known as “rhapidosomes.”  Currently, no one knows the physiological purpose of these structures or how they are synthesized and regulated.   Please see the available video showing Saprospira’s interesting swimming behavior.

My main focus will be to finish the sequencing and annotation of the Saprospira genome.  I am also working on characterizing and studying the physiology of five globin genes that were found in the genomic data.   I am also studying the synthesis, regulation, and physiology of the rhapidosomes.  It has already been postulated that rhapidosomes are defective phage tails that could be bacteriocins similar to the pyocin R bacteriocin of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.  If this is true, the rhapidosomes should play a critical role in the ability of Saprospira to consume other bacteria.  Discovering the physiology of the rhapidosome would be very exciting and would finally shed light on a topic that has eluded scientists for over 40 years.