Julia Maresca

Associate Professor
15 Innovation Way, Room 204B
Newark, Delaware 19716
Phone: 302-831-4391
Research Website

EDUCATION

1999 | BA | University of Chicago
2007 | PhD | The Pennsylvania State University

SHORT BIO

I use high-throughput sequencing, bacterial genetics, and physiology to examine microbial responses to environmental inputs. Current projects in my lab include analysis of bacterial communities in and on weathering concrete, visualization of rhodopsins in aquatic environments, light-sensing by heterotrophic Actinobacteria, and phosphorus acquisition in in an oligotrophic ferruginous tropical lake.

RESEARCH AREAS/SUSTAINABILITY

• Biochemistry
• Environmental and Water Resources
• Water

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

1. J.A. Maresca, P. Moser, T. Schumacher. Bacterial communities in and on concrete. 2017. Materials and Structures 50: 25. doi:10.1617/s11527-016-0929-y
2. Tian; V. (Beneski) Miller; P.C. Chiu; J.A. Maresca; M. Guo, P.T. Imhoff. Nutrient release and ammonium sorption of poultry litter and wood biochars in stormwater treatment. 2016. Science of the Total Environment 553: 596–606. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.02.129
3. Yao, C. Henny, J.A. Maresca. Freshwater bacteria release methane as a byproduct of phosphorus acquisition and oxidation. 82: 6994-7003. 2016. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. doi:10.1128/AEM.02399-16
4. Yao, F. Elling, CA. Jones, C.P. Long, S. Nomosatryo, S.A. Crowe, M.R. Antoniewicz, K.-U. Hinrichs, J.A. Maresca. Heterotrophic bacteria from an extremely phosphate-poor lake have conditionally reduced phosphorus demand and utilize diverse sources of phosphorus. In press,Environmental Microbiology. doi:10.1111/1462-2920.13063
5. J.L. Keffer, C.R. Sabanayagam, M.E. Lee, E.F. DeLong, M.W. Hahn, J.A. Maresca. Identifying rhodopsin-containing cells using TIRF microscopy. 2015. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 81 (10): 3442-3450. doi:10.1128/AEM.00230-15.
6. J.L. Keffer, M.W. Hahn, J.A. Maresca. Characterization of a novel freshwater rhodopsin from Rhodoluna lacicola. 2015. Journal of Bacteriology, 197(16): 2704-2712. doi: 10.1128/JB.00386-15
7. A.L. Zerkle, K. Scheiderich, J.A. Maresca, L.J. Liermann, and S.L. Brantley. 2011. Molybdenum isotope fractionation by cyanobacterial assimilation during nitrate utilization and N2 fixation. Geobiology, 9(1):94-106.
8. J.A. Maresca, J.C. Braff, and E.F. Delong. 2009. Characterization of canthaxanthin biosynthesis genes from an uncultured marine bacterium. Environmental Microbiology Reports, 1: 524-534.
9. J.A. Maresca, S.P. Romberger, and D.A. Bryant. 2008. Isorenieratene biosynthesis in green sulfur bacteria requires the cooperative actions of two carotenoid cyclases. Journal of Bacteriology, 190: 6384-6391.
10. J.A. Maresca, J.E. Graham, and D.A. Bryant. 2008. The biochemical basis for structural diversity in the carotenoids of phototrophic bacteria. Photosynthesis Research, 97: 121-140.
11. J.A. Maresca, J.E. Graham, M. Wu, J. Eisen, and D.A. Bryant. 2007. Identification of a new family of lycopene cyclases in photosynthetic bacteria. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104: 11784-11789.

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