The "Environmental Microbiology" group strives to excel in the research of its graduate students and on "tailor-made" theses. Each of our students is required to publish his/her thesis or main findings in high impact, peer-reviewed scientific journals. "Instant" and "assembly line" theses are therefore, unavailable.

Graduated students (since 1992)

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or Doctor in Science (D.Sc.)

Name: Thelma Castellanos
Degree: D. Sc.
Years: 1994-1997
Graduate school: The Center of Biological Research of Northwest. La Paz, Mexico.
Thesis: Responses of the cell surface of the plant growth-promoting bacteria Azospirillum spp. to external stimuli.

Publications from thesis:

1. Castellanos, T., Ascencio, F. y Bashan, Y. 1997. Cell-surface hydrophobicity and cell-surface charge of Azospirillum spp. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 24: 159-172.
2. Castellanos, T., Ascencio, F. y Bashan, Y. 1998. Cell-surface lectins of Azospirillum spp. Current Microbiology 36: 241-244.
3. Castellanos, T., Ascencio, F. y Bashan, Y. 2000. Starvation-induced changes in the cell surface of Azospirillum lipoferum. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 33: 1-9.

Name: Esther Puente
Degree: D. Sc.
Years: 1999-2004
Graduate school: The Center of Biological Research of Northwest. La Paz, Mexico.
Thesis: Endophytic and rhizoplane bacterial populations from desert plants that weather rocks and their effect on the growth of cardon cactus.

Publications from thesis:

1. Puente, M.E., Bashan, Y., Li, C.Y., and Lebsky, V.K. 2004. Microbial populations and activities in the rhizoplane of rock-weathering desert plants, I. Root colonization and weathering of igneous rocks. Plant Biology 6: 629-642
2. Puente, M.E., Li, C.Y., and Bashan, Y. 2004. Microbial populations and activities in the rhizoplane of rock-weathering desert plants, II. Growth promotion of cactus seedling. Plant Biology 6: 643-650
3. Puente, M.E., Rodriguez-Jaramillo, M.C., Li, C.Y. and Bashan, Y. 2006. Image analysis for quantification of bacterial rock weathering. Journal of Microbiological Methods 64: 275-286

Name: Ricardo Yabur Pacheco
Degree: D. Sc.
Years: 2001-2005
Graduate school: The Interdiciplinary Center for Marine Sciences, National Polytechnique Institute. La Paz, B.C.S., Mexico.
Thesis: Production and properties of alginate from Sargassum sinicola (Setchell & Gardner) and its application in immobilization of cell.

Publications from thesis:

1. Yabur, R., Bashan Y., Hernández-Carmona G. 2007. Alginate from the macroalgae Sargassum sinicola as a novel source for microbial immobilization material in wastewater treatment and plant growth promotion. Journal of Applied Phycology 19: 43-53.

Alginate beads containing the Plant growth-promotign bacteria Azospirillum brasilense Cd.above beads from Macrocystis pyrifera below beads from Sargassum sinicola(Inoculant for agriculture)

Different beads of alginate from various sources. (from left to rigth: control of Macrocystis pyrifera, control of Sargassum sinicola, immobilized of Macrocystis pyrifera (Chlorella), immobilized of Sargassum sinicola (Chlorella), co-immobilized of Macrocystis pyrifera(Chlorella with Azospirillum), co-immobilized of Sargassum sinicola (Chlorella with Azospirillum))

Name: Luz E. Gonzalez de-Bashan
Degree: Ph. D.
Years: 2001-2006
Graduate school: Laval University, Quebec, Canada.
Thesis: Ammonium metabolism coupled with indole-3-acetic acid in the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris when coimmobilized in alginate beads with the microalgae growth-promoting bacterium Azospirillum brasilense.

Publications from thesis:

1. de-Bashan, L.E. and Bashan, Y. 2004. Recent advances in removing phosphorus from wastewater and its future use as fertilizer (1997-2003). Water Research 38: 4222-4246
2. de-Bashan, L.E., Antoun H., and Bashan, Y. 2005. Cultivation factors and population size control uptake of nitrogen by the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris when interacting with the microalgae growth-promoting baterium Azospirillum brasilense.FEMS Microbiology Ecology 54: 197-203
3. de-Bashan, L.E., Antoun, H., and Bashan Y. 2008. Involvement of indole-3-acetic-acid produced by the growth-promoting bacterium Azospirillum spp. in promoting growth of Chlorella vulgaris. Journal of Phycology 44: 938–947.
4. de-Bashan, L.E., Magallon, P., Antoun, H., and Bashan Y. 2008. Role of glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamine synthetase in Chlorella vulgaris during assimilation of ammonium when jointly immobilized with the microalgae-growth-promoting bacterium Azospirillum brasilense. Journal of Phycology 44 : 1188–1196.
5. de-Bashan, L.E., and Bashan Y. 2008. Joint immobilization of plant growth-promoting bacteria and green microalgae in alginate beads as an experimental model for studying plant-bacterium interactions. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 74: 6797–6802.

Luz Gonzalez de Bashan preparing microalgae for water treatment.

Master in Science (M.Sc.)

Name: Gerardo Toledo
Degree: M.Sc.
Years:1993-1995
Graduate school: Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias del Mar, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, La Paz, Mexico.
Thesis: Diazotrophic activity of cyanobacteria associated with the black mangrove (Avicennia germinans).

Gerardo Toledo is preparing a destroyed mangrove area for reforestation.

Gerardo Toledo plants a seedling. Gerardo Toledo and Angel Carrillo preparing a destroyed mangrove area for reforestation.

Publications from thesis:

1. Toledo, G., Bashan, Y. y Soeldner, A. 1995. Cyanobacteria and black mangroves in Northwestern Mexico: colonization, and diurnal and seasonal nitrogen fixation on aerial roots. Canadian Journal of Microbiology 41: 999-1011.
2. Toledo, G., Bashan, Y. y Soeldner, A. 1995. In vitro colonization and increase in nitrogen fixation of seedling roots of black mangrove inoculated by a filamentous cyanobacteria. Canadian Journal of Microbiology 41: 1012-1020.
3. Toledo, G., Rojas, A., y Bashan, Y. 2001. Monitoring of black mangrove restoration with nursery-reared seedlings on an arid coastal lagoon. Hydrobiología 444: 101-109..

Name: Gina Holguin
Degree: M.Sc.
Years: 1994-1996
Graduate school: Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias del Mar, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, La Paz, Mexico.
Thesis: Co-culturing of Azospirillum brasilense Cd with the mangrove rhizosphere bacteria Staphylococcus sp. promotes its nitrogen fixation.

Publication from thesis:

1. Holguin, G. y Bashan, Y. 1996. Nitrogen-fixation by Azospirillum brasilense Cd is promoted when co-cultured with a mangrove rhizosphere bacterium (Staphylococcus sp.) Soil Biology and Biochemistry 28: 1651-1660.

Name: Angel Carrillo
Degree: M.Sc.
Years: 1998-2001
Graduate school: The Center for Biological Research of the Northwest. La Paz, Mexico.
Thesis: Factors favoring the establishment of plantlets of the cardon cactus (Pachycereus pringlei) in association with mesquite tree (Prosopis articulata) soil.

Publications from thesis:

1. Carrillo-Garcia, A., Leon de la Luz, J.-L., Bashan, Y. y Bethlenfalvay, G.J. 1999. Nurse plants, mycorrhizae, and plant establishment in a disturbed area of the Sonoran desert. Restoration Ecology 7: 321-335.
2. Carrillo-Gracia, A., Bashan, Y., Diaz-Rivera, E., y Bethlenfalvay,G.J. 2000. Effects of resource - island soils, competition, and inoculation with Azospirillum on survival and growth of Pachycereus pringlei, the giant cactus of the Sonoran Desert. Restoration Ecology 8 : 65-73.
3. Carrillo-Garcia, A., Bashan, Y. y Bethlenfalvay, G.J. 2000. Resource-island soils and the survival of the giant cactus, cardon, of Baja California Sur.Plant and Soil 218: 207-214.
4. Carrillo, A.E., Li, C.Y., and Bashan, Y. 2002. Increased acidification in the rhizosphere of cactus seedlings induced by Azospirillum brasilense. Naturwissenschaften 89: 428-432.

Name: Juan-Pablo Hernandez Sanchez
Degree: M. Sc.
Years: 2002-2004
Graduate school: The Interdiciplinary Center for Marine Sciences, National Polytechnique Institute. La Paz, B. C. S., México.
Thesis: Evaluation of microalgae-bacteria system for the removal of nutrients from domestic wastewater.

Publications from thesis:

1. de Bashan, L. E.,Hernandez, J. P., Morey, T., and Bashan, Y. 2004. Microalgae growth-promoting bacteria as "helpers" for microalgae: a novel approach for removing ammonium and phosphorus from municipal wastewater. Water Research 38:466-474.
2. Hernandez, J-P., de-Bashan, L.E., and Bashan, Y. 2006. Starvation enhances phosphorus removal from wastewater by the microalgae Chlorella spp.co-immobilized with Azospirillum brasilense. Enzyme and Microbial Technology 38: 190-198

Name: Silke Fendrich
Degree: Diploma (M.Sc. equivalent) in Environmental Engineering
Years: 2004-2005
Graduate school: Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Thesis: Examination of Chlorella sorokiniana under arid climatic conditions with regard to its capacity for nutrient removal in domestic wastewater.

Name: Ana Lidia Flores Mireles
Degree: M. Sc.
Years: 2003-2005
Graduate school: The Center for Biological Research of the Northwest. La Paz, Mexico.
Thesis: Cell-cell signaling among denitrifying and nitrogen fixing bacteria, asociated to the rhizosphere of black mangrove Avicennia germinans, through Acyl-Homoserin Lactone (AHL's) molecules.

Publication from thesis:

1. Flores-Mireles, A.L., S.C. Winans, and G. Holguín. 2007. Molecular characterization of diazotrophic and denitrifying bacteria associated with mangrove roots. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 73: 7308–7321.

Name: Luis Alonso Leyva Soto
Degree: M. Sc.
Years: 2003-2006
Graduate school: The Center for Biological Research of the Northwest. La Paz, Mexico.
Thesis: Effect of gluconic acid on its metabolic enzymes in Azospirillum brasilense associated with mesquite tree roots.

Publication from thesis:

1. Leyva L.A. and Bashan, Y. 2008. Activity of two catabolic enzymes of the phosphogluconate pathway in mesquite roots inoculated with Azospirillum brasilense Cd. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 46 : 898-904

Name: Maria Claudia Villicaña Torres
Degree: M.Sc.
Years: 2004-2007
Graduate school: The Center for Biological Research of the Northwest. La Paz, Mexico.
Thesis: Effect of acyl homoserine lactones on nitrogen fixation and inorganic phosphate solubilization in bacteria isolated from the mangroves Avicennia germinans and Laguncularia racemosa

Name: Alfonso Davila Lule
Degree: M. Sc.
Years: 2004-2007
Graduate school: The Center for Biological Research of the Northwest. La Paz, Mexico.
Thesis: Effect of signal molecule (acile homoserine lactone) produce by Vibrio spp. LR6HC, bacteria isolated from the roots of black mangrove Avicennia germinans .

Diploma (Licenciatura, Engineering or B.Sc.)

Name: Gina Holguin
Degree: B.Sc. (Diploma) in Marine Biology
Years: 1992-1993
Graduate school: Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, Mexico.
Thesis: Two new nitrogen-fixing bacteria from the rhizosphere of mangrove trees: Their isolation, identification and in vitro interaction with rhizosphere Staphylococcus sp.

Gina Holguin collecting propagules of black mangroves from a flooded mangrove area.

Publication from thesis:

1. Holguin, G., Guzman, M.A. y Bashan, Y. 1992. Two new nitrogen-fixing bacteria from the rhizosphere of mangrove trees, isolation, identification and in vitro interaction with rhizosphere Staphylococcus sp. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 101: 207-216.

Name: Patricia Vazquez Correa
Degree: B. Sc. (Diploma) in Marine Biology
Years: 1994-1996
Graduate school: Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, Mexico.
Thesis: Inorganic-phosphate solubilizing bacteria associated with the rhizosphere of mangroves; Avicennia germinans (L.) L and Laguncularia racemosa (L.) Gaertn .

Patricia Vazquez (student) and Gina Holguin (tutor) collecting
black mangrove seedlings for isolation of phosphate solubilizing bacteria.

Publication from thesis:

1. Vazquez, P., Holguin, G., Puente, M.E., Lopez-Cortes, A. y Bashan, Y. 2000. Phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms associated with the rhizosphere of mangroves in a semiarid coastal lagoon. Biology and Fertility of Soils 30 : 460-468.

Name: Adriana Rojas
Degree: B.Sc. (Diploma) in Marine Biology
Years: 1998-2001
Graduate school: Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, Mexico.
Thesis: Synergism and antagonism between diazotrofic bacteria and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria isolated from mangrove's roots.

Publication from thesis:

1. Rojas, A., Holguin, G., Glick, B.R. y Bashan, Y. 2001. Synergism between Phyllobacterium sp. (N2-fixer) and Bacillus licheniformis (P-solubilizer), both from a semiarid mangrove rhizosphere. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 35: 181-187

Name: Juan-Pablo Hernandez Sanchez
Degree: B.Sc. (Diploma) in Biology
Years: 1998-2001
Graduate school: Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia.
Thesis: Use of co-immobilized bacteria and microalgae to remove phosphorus from agroindustrial wastewaters.

Publication from thesis:

1. Gonzalez-Bashan, L.E., Lebsky, V.K., Hernandez, J.P., Bustillos, J.J. y Bashan, Y. 2000. Change in the metabolism of the microalga Chlorella vulgaris when coimmobilized in alginate with the nitrogen-fixing Phyllobacterium myrsinacearum. Canadian Journal of Microbiology 46: 653-659.

Name: Luis Alonso Leyva Soto
Degree: Diploma in Biochemestry Engineering
Years: 2000-2002
Graduate school: Instituto Tecnologico de Los Mochis, Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Thesis: Immovilization fo Azospirillum brasilense Cd in alginate microbeads; production and evaluation of its effec on wheat plants.

Publications from thesis:

1. Bashan, Y., Hernandez, J.P., Leyva, L.A. y Bacilio, M. 2002. Alginate microbeads as inoculant carrier for plant growth-promoting bacteria. Biology and Fertility of Soils 35: 359-368.
2. Bashan, Y., Bustillos, J.J., Leyva, L.A., Hernandez, J-P., and Bacilio M. 2006. Increase in auxiliary photoprotective photosynthetic pigments in wheat seedlings induced by Azospirillum brasilense.Biology and Fertility of Soils 42: 279-285

Name:Adan Trejo Rangel
Degree: Diploma in Biology
Years: 2001-2005
Graduate school: The Autonomus Metropolitan University (UAM), Xochimmilco, Mexico City, Mexico.
Thesis: Characterization of Chlorella sorokiniana immobilized with Azospirillum brasilense, for wastewater treatment under extreme desert conditions.

Publication from thesis:

1. de-Bashan, L.E., Trejo, A., Huss, V.A.R., Hernandez, J.-P. Bashan, Y. 2008. Chlorella sorokiniana UTEX 2805, a heat and intense, sunlight-tolerant microalga with potential for removing ammonium from wastewater. Bioresource Technology 99: 4980-4989

Name: Emiro Ortiz
Degree: Diploma in Agronomic Engineering
Years: 2002-2006
Graduate school: National University of Colombia, Bogota, Colombia.
Thesis: Effect of the inoculation with Bacillus subtilis var2 and Bacillus pumilus isolated from the giant cactus pachycereus pringlei on the growth of sorghum.

Name: Yaneth Rodriguez
Degree: Diploma in Agronomic Engineering
Years: 2002-2006
Graduate school: National University of Colombia, Bogota, Colombia.
Thesis: Effect of nitrogen fixation of Bacillus subtilis var2 on the growth of the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris

Johana Rodriguez preparing bioreactors with microalgae and bacteria.

Johana Rodriguez and her winning poster.

Name: Deicy Johana Rodriguez Jimenez
Degree: Diploma in Biology
Years: 2005-2008
Graduate school: University of Tolima, Ibague, Colombia
Thesis: Evaluation of combined systems of Chlorella vulgaris and Chlorella sorokiniana coimmobilized in alginate beads with Bacillus subtilis var2 and P. chitinolyticus for removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater.

1. Best poster presentation of a graduate student: The poster: Rodríguez D.J, Hernández J.P y Bashan Y. 2008. "Evaluación de sistemas combinados de Chlorella sorokiniana coinmovilizada con Bacillus sp. y Paenibacillus sp. en esferas de alginato para el tratamiento biológico de agua residual" presented by Johana Rodriguez won the first prize award for poster presentation in: Congreso Internacional Gestión Sostenible del Agua (International Congress for sustainable management of water). 16-18.7.2008. Medellin, Colombia.

Name: Manuel Antonio Ruíz
Degree: Diploma in Marine Biology
Years: 2004-2007
Graduate school: The Autonomus University of Baja California Sur. La Paz, Mexico.
Thesis: Lateral transfer of antibiotic resistance genes in bacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of mangroves Avicennia germinans .

CONTINUE

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