Global Utilities

La Trobe University
Department of Microbiology

    Department of Microbiology
    La Trobe University
    Victoria 3086
    AUSTRALIA
    Tel: +61 3 9479-1114
    Fax: +61 3 9479-1222
    Email: microbiology
    @latrobe.edu.au

Dr Ashley Franks
Environmental Microbiology

Contact details

Thomas Cherry Building
Department of Microbiology
Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering
La Trobe University  Victoria  3086
AUSTRALIA

Departmental Enquiries: + 61 9479 1114
Fax: +61 3 9479 1222

Email: a.franks@latrobe.edu.au

Research interests

Environmental microbiology is the study of the composition and physiology of microbial communities in the environment. An understanding of these natural processes is fundamental for comprehension of ecosystem function and application to biotechnology, bioremediation and bioenergy.

In the environment, microbes are commonly found aggregated to each other and/or a surface in what is referred to as a biofilm. Forming biofilms enable microbes to perform unique physiological processes. Our challenge is to understand the microbial biofilms, their function in nature and how these functions can benefit us. In particular, bacterial biofilms that can promote the growth of plants or transfer electrons extracellularly are a focus.

Bacterial interactions with plant roots, a zone referred to as the rhizosphere, can have both beneficial and detrimental effects. Plants can influence microbe activity through root exudates and microbes can affect plant health through biostimulation, biofertilization, biocontrol and infection. These activities involve complex signalling and interactions between the plant and the rhizosphere-associated microbial communities.

Some bacterial biofilms are capable of transferring electrons extracellular between cells and to insoluble electron acceptors. While extracellular electron transfer is commonly associated with electricity production by bacteria in microbial fuel cells, microbial extracellular electron transfer is an important environmental process and has applications in bioremediation and in the microbial mediated production of specialty chemicals.

Fundamental to these applied applications is a basic understanding of the microbial processes, interactions and evolution in the biofilm mode of life.

Electrode associated biofilms and electrical current production
Electrode associated biofilms are able to support growth and produce an electrical current through anaerobic respiration utilizing an electrode as an electron acceptor

Recent Publications

  1. Nevin, K.P., Hensley, S.A., Franks, A.E., Summers, Z.M., Ou, J., Woodward, T., Snoeyenbos-West, O.L, and Lovley, D.R. (2011) Electrosynthesis of organic compounds from carbon dioxide catalyzed by a diversity of acetogenic microorganisms. Applied And Environmental Microbiology doi:10.1128/AEM.02642-10
  2. Hensly, S.A., Vargas, M., and Franks, A.E. (2011) The microbiology of microbial electric systems. In Microbial Biotechnology: Energy and Environment. Ed: R. Arora. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK
  3. Summers, Z.M., Fogarty, H., Leang, C., Franks, A.E., Malvankar, N.S., and Lovley, D.R. (2010) Direct exchange of electrons within aggregates of an evolved syntrophic co-culture of anaerobic bacteria. Science 330 (6009): 1413-1415.
  4. Inoue, K., Leang, C., Franks, A.E., Woodard, T.L., Nevin, K.P., and Lovley, D.R. (2010) Specific localization of the c-type cytochrome OmcZ at the anode surface in current-producing biofilms of Geobacter sulfurreducens. Environmental Microbiology Reports 3(2): 211-217.
  5. Klimes A., Franks A.E., Glaven R.H., Tran H., Barrett C.L., Qiu Y., Zengler, K. and Lovley, D.R. (2010) Production of pilus-like filaments in Geobacter sulfurreducens in the absence of the type IV pilin protein PilA. FEMS Microbiology Letters 310(1): 62-68.
  6. Franks, A.E., Nevin, K.P., Glaven, R. and Lovely, D.R. (2010) A novel approach for spatial analysis of global gene expression within a Geobacter sulfurreducens current-producing biofilm. The ISME Journal 4(4): 509-519.
  7. Nevin, K.P., Woodard, T.L., Franks, A.E., Summers, Z.M. and Lovley, D.R. (2010) Microbial electrosynthesis: feeding microbes electricity to convert carbon dioxide and water to multicarbon extracellular organic compounds. mBio 1(2).
  8. Franks, A.E., Malvankar, N., and Nevin, K.P. (2010) Bacterial biofilms, the powerhouse of a microbial fuel cell. BioFuels July
  9. Franks, A.E., and Nevin. K.P., (2010) Advances in microbial fuel cells, a current review. Energies 3(5): 899-919.
  10. Franks, A.E. (2010) Transcriptional analysis of current producing biofilms, the pitfalls of microbes in diverse physiological states. FEMS Letters 307(2): 111-112.
  11. Zhang, T., Gannon, S.M., Nevin, K.P., Franks, A.E., and Lovley, D.R. (2010) Stimulating the anaerobic degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons in contaminated sediments by providing an electrode as the electron acceptor. Environmental Microbiology 12(4): 1011-1020.
  12. Williams, K.H.,. Nevin, K.P. Franks, A. Englert, A. Long, P.E. and Lovley, D.R. (2010) Electrode-based approach for monitoring in situ microbial activity during subsurface bioremediation. Environmental Science and Technology 44(1): 47-54.
  13. Yi, H., Nevin, K.P., Byoung-Chan, K., Franks, A.E., Malvankar, N., Haveman, S.A. and Lovley, D.R. (2009) Selection of a variant of Geobacter sulfurreducens with enhanced capacity for current production in microbial fuel cells. Biosensors and Bioelectronics 24(12): 3498-3503.
  14. Strycharz, S., Gannon, S., Boles, A., Franks, A.E., Nevin, K. and Lovley, D.R. (2009) Reductive dechlorination of 2-chlorophenol by Anaeromyxobacter dehalogenans with an electrode serving as the electron donor. Environmental Microbiology and Environmental Microbiology Reports 2(2): 289-294
  15. Franks, A.E., Nevin, K.P. Jao, H., Izallalen, M., Woodard, T. and Lovley, D.R. (2009) Novel strategy for three-dimensional real-time imaging of microbial fuel cell communities: Monitoring the inhibitory effects of proton accumulation within the anode biofilm. Energy and Environmental Science 2: 113-119.
  16. Nevin, K.P., Byoung-Chan, K., Glaven, R.H., Johnson, J.P., Woodard, T.L., Methé, B.A., DiDonato, R.J., Covalla1, S.F., Franks, A.E., Liu, A. and Lovley, D.R. (2009) Anode biofilm transcriptomics reveals outer surface components essential for high density current production in Geobacter sulfurreducens fuel cells. PLoS ONE 4(5): e5628.
  17. Franks, A., Mark-Byrne, G.L., Dow, J.M., and O'Gara, F. (2008) A putative RNA-binding protein has a role in virulence in Ralstonia solanacearum GMI1000. Molecular Plant Pathology 9(1): 67-72
  18. Miller, S.H., Mark, G.L., Franks, A. and O'Gara, F. (2008). Pseudomonas-plant interactions. In Pseudomonas: Model organism, pathogen, cell factory, pp. 353-376. Ed: B. H. A. Rehm. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.
  19. Ryan, R. P., Germaine, K., Franks, A.E., Ryan, D.J. and Dowling, D. (2008). Bacterial endophytes: recent developments and applications. FEMS Microbiology Letters 278(1): 1-9
  20. Franks, A., Egan, S., Holmström, C., James, S., Lappin-Scott, H. and Kjelleberg, S. (2006) Inhibition of fungal colonisation by Pseudoalteromonas tunicata provides a competitive advantage during surface colonisation. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 72: 6079-6087
  21. Franks, A., Ryan, R., Abbas, A., Mark, L., and F. O'Gara. (2006), Molecular tools for studying plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). In The molecular approaches to soil, rhizosphere and plant microorganisms. Pp. 131-151. Eds: Cooper and Rao. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK
  22. Kiely, D.P., Haynes, J.M., Higgins, C.H., Franks, A., Mark, G.L., Morrissey, J.P. and O'Gara, F. (2006) Exploiting new systems-based strategies to elucidate plant-bacterial interactions in the rhizosphere. Microbial Ecology 51(3): 257-66.
  23. Mark, G.L., Dow, M.J., Kiely, P., Higgins, H., Haynes, J., Baysse, C., Abbas, A., Foley, T., Franks, A., Morrissey, J., and F. O'Gara. (2005) Transcriptome profiling of bacterial responses to root exudates identifies novel genes involved in microbe-plant interactions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America 102(48): 17454-17459.
  24. Franks, A., Haywood, P., Holmström, C., Egan, S., Kjelleberg, S. and Kumar, N. (2005) Isolation and structural elucidation of a novel yellow pigment from the marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas tunicata. Molecules 10: 1286-1291
  25. Franks, A. (2004) Mini-review: A promising future for marine natural products. The Journal of the Australian Society of Microbiology Feb: 5-8.
  26. Holmström, C., Egan, S., Franks, A., McCloy, S. and S. Kjelleberg, (2002) Antifouling activities expressed by marine surface associated Pseudoalteromonas species. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 41(1): 47-58.

Other activities

  1. 2010: The Kids Science Challenge
    Run in conjunction with the National Public Radio program "Pulse of the Planet", Kids Science Challenge is a national science competition for children. This challenge also provides teachers/mentors guidelines and lesson plans to promote science. Winner of Editors Choice Blue Ribbon at 2010 "Makers Faire" held at The New York Hall of Science.
  2. 2010: Magical Microbes Chomp
    Web based interactive science game developed to promote student’s interest in microbiology and science. Developed in association with the Kids Science Challenge
  3. 2010: World Lab-Gatchan Episode #16 2010. NHK - The Student Channel Japan
    Science based Japanese Television series broadcast nationally in Japan. Episode #16 focused on work with Geobacter powered microbial fuel cells and microbial electrosynthesis. Episode produced in collaboration with NHK, NEXTEP TV WORKSHOP Co., Ltd and University of Massachusets.