Anders Johnson

I am currently a researcher working within EEMiS focusing on 'omics' methods. I am currently continuing my work with acid sulfate soils and have expanded my collaborations to work with extractions and analyses of Baltic sediment transcriptomes as well as developing methods for extraction and amplification of environmental DNA from fresh waters.  

I completed my PhD in Ecology at the Linnaeus University Center for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial model Systems (EEMiS) in Kalmar, Sweden. I earned a Master of Science (MS) of Biological Sciences from Idaho State University.

I also hold two Bachelors of Science degrees from Idaho State University in Biological Sciences and Outdoor Education and am a Wilderness First Respnder (NOLS).

Teaching

Through my current position, I am mentoring two PhD students in DNA extraction, amplification and analyses techniues. Furthermore, I collaborating with colleagues to evaluate and troubleshoot their methods to improve effeciency and quality.  

During my PhD, I have been a mentor for one undergraduate thesis project and two Master's thesis projects.

During my Master's I was a teaching assistant for undergraduate biology and microbiology labs for two years. I was aslo was a mentor in my research lab for undergraduate projects.  

Research

I have a broad interest in multi-extermophile microbiology. My Master's thesis focused on acid-tolerant theromphilic archaea where my thesis project focused on genomic assembly and annotation and proteomic identification of Extracellular Electron Transport and biofilm formation. To explore this project, I utilized a multi-tool approach of whole-genome sequencing, targeted SDS-PAGE with protein sequencing, and development of a flow-through bioreactor for live imaging confocal microscopy. Now I am focusing on acidic boreal and hemiboreal environments like acid sulfate soils and acid min drainage.

Acid sulfate soils are described as the nastiest soils on Earth. These soils are known to be natural releasers of sulfuric acid and toxic metals into the environment and have been attributed to the massive fish kills experienced in the northern Baltic in 2006.  These soils develop as a result of chemical and microbiological reactions when they are drained through the land rising, long droughts, or artificial drainage. There are populations of microbes within these soils are diverse, including iron and sulfur oxidizers as well as iron and sulfur reducers. Collectively, these are called dissimaltory metal-respiring bacteria, in other words, bacteria that are able to breathe metals. In a way that human metabolism is linked to Oxygen, the metabolism of these microbes is liked to metals.

My PhD studies are centered around exploring the microbial diversity of acid sulfate soils throughout Sweden and within boreal acid mine drainage. Projects currently include national distribution of Swedish acid sulfate soils, regional microbial community differences of active acid sulfate soils, microbial community changes during various treatments of sulfidic soil materials, microbial community changes during oxidation or reduction of metal-mineral complexes contained in sulfidic soils, and microbial changes in acid mine drainage environments. These projects broadly address the microbial mechanisms that are involed in the production and mitigation of acidity and solubilization of metals in sulfidic materials. 

The interests that were founded in my Master's were refined during my PhD. Currently I have been enjoying adapting existing methodologies to new environments in order to find ways to less invasively survey enviroments.