The phylum Bacteroidetes represents an unusual group of bacteria that possess a variety of unique molecular mechanisms that allow them to occupy distinct ecological niches. Here we reveal these unique mechanisms extend further than their distinct carbon acquisition strategies.

Ammonia is a compound contained in animal waste and its concentrations in the environment are strictly regulated. For this reason, waste waters and polluted air are treated to reduce the concentration of this molecule before releasing it to the environment.

After working with bacterial biofilms as model to understand the evolution of enzymes in complex environments, it was hard to go back to domesticated bacteria. In my new lab we will continue to bridge between biofilms' biology and evolutionary biochemistry.