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K.T. Shanmugam

K.T. Shanmugam

Professor, Microbiology and Cell Science, University of Florida

Phone: (352) 392-2490

Fax: (352) 392-5922

P.O. Box 110700
Gainesville, FL 32611-0700

http://microcell.ifas.ufl.edu/personnel/faculty/shan.shtml

Education:

Ph.D. Microbiology, University of Hawaii

Research Interests:

General area: bacterial anaerobic metabolism; dinitrogen fixation and dihydrogen production by fermentative bacteria and cyanobacteria; molybdate transport and regulation. Dr. Shanmugam’s research at the University of Florida, Florida Center for Renewable Chemicals and Fuels (FCRC) is focused towards metabolic engineering of bacterial biocatalysts for production of chemicals and liquid fuels at high yield and purity. His interest in metabolic engineering dates back to early 1970s with the demonstration of engineered bacterial biocatalysts that convert atmospheric dinitrogen to ammonia and export to the environment. This led to the development of cyanobacteria that produce ammonia from dinitrogen, water and sunlight for growth of rice plants in N-deficient growth medium. Further metabolic engineering of these cyanobacteria led to bacterial biocatalysts that ferment hexoses photoheterotrophically to dihydrogen at a dihydrogen to hexose yield of 12-14.

Publications List:

  • Su, Y., M. S. Rhee, L. O. Ingram and K. T. Shanmugam. 2010. Physiological and fermentation properties of Bacillus coagulans and a mutant lacking fermentative lactate dehydrogenase activity. J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol. (In Press).
  • Ou, M. S., L. O. Ingram and K. T. Shanmugam. 2010. L: (+)-Lactic acid production from non-food carbohydrates by thermotolerant Bacillus coagulans. J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol. (In Press).
  • Wang, Q., M. S. Ou, Y. Kim, L. O. Ingram and K. T. Shanmugam. 2010. Metabolic flux control at the pyruvate node in an anaerobic Escherichia coli strain with an active pyruvate dehydrogenase. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 76:2107-2114.
  • Do, P. M., A. Angerhofer, I.Hrdy, L. Bardonova, L. O. Ingram and K. T. Shanmugam. 2009. Engineering Escherichia coli for fermentative dihydrogen production: potential role of NADH-ferredoxin oxidoreductase from the hydrogenosome of anaerobic protozoa. Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 153:21-33.
  • Ou, M. S., N. Mohammed, L. O. Ingram and K. T. Shanmugam. 2009. Thermophilic Bacillus coagulans requires less cellulases for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of cellulose to products than mesophilic microbial biocatalysts. Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 155:379-385.