Biographical Sketch - Dr. William Holben

HolbenDr. William Holben received a B.S. in Biology from the State University of New York at Fredonia, a M.A in Biology from State University of New York at Buffalo, and a Ph. D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the State University of New York at Buffalo. His initial research was on ribosomal RNA gene expression in E. coli. After receiving his Ph.D., he went on to a postdoctoral position at Michigan State University to apply his knowledge of molecular biology to study microorganisms in the environment. Early work in this area was to develop protocols for the extraction and analysis of total bacterial community DNA from soil and sediment samples. This represented some of the first work in a field that has since become known as Molecular Microbial Ecology. While at Michigan State, Dr. Holben contributed to the establishment of and early projects at the NSF-STC-funded Center for Microbial Ecology. Dr. Holben is currently a Full Professor of Microbial Ecology at The University of Montana where he teaches topics in General Microbiology and Microbial Ecology at the graduate and undergraduate level as well as special topics courses and graduate mentoring in Molecular Microbial Ecology. He also currently serves as an Editorial Board member for the journals Applied and Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology. Current research interests and ongoing projects include: community-level analyses linking bacterial community structure, function, activity and diversity in metal-contaminated and pristine river sediment systems; exploring the role of the microbial community in the success of invasive weeds; examining the role of charcoal from forest fires in controlling the distribution and activity of nitrifying bacteria in forest soils; fate and transport of microbes in the environment; microbial ecology of the gastrointestinal tract.

Relevant Recent Publications:

  1. Kovacik, W.P. Jr., K. Takai, M.R. Mormile, J.P. McKinley, F.J. Brockman, J.K. Fredrickson and W.E. Holben. 2005. Molecular analysis of deep subsurface cretaceous rock indicates abundant Fe(III)- and So-reducing bacteria in a sulfate-rich environment. Environ. Microbiol: doi: 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2005.00876.x
  2. Holben, W.E., K.P. Feris, A. Kettunen, and J.H.A. Apajalahti. 2004. GC fractionation enhances microbial community diversity assessment and detection of minority populations of bacteria by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70:2263-2270.
  3. Feris, K.P., P.W. Ramsey, M. Rillig, J.N. Moore, J.E. Gannon, and W.E. Holben. 2004a. Determining rates of change and evaluating group-level resiliency differences in hyporheic microbial communities in response to fluvial heavy metal deposition. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70:4756-4765.
  4. Feris, K. P. Ramsey, C. Frazar, M. Rillig, J.N. Moore, J.E. Gannon, and W.E. Holben. 2004b. Seasonal dynamics of shallow hyporheic zone microbial community structure along a heavy metal contamination gradient. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70:2323-2331.
  5. Callaway, R.M., G.C. Thelen, A. Rodriguez, and W.E. Holben. 2004. Soil biota and exotic plant invasion. Nature 427:731-733.
  6. Feris, K. P. Ramsey, C. Frazar, J.N. Moore, J.E. Gannon, and W.E. Holben. 2003a. Differences in hyporheic zone microbial community structure along a heavy metal contamination gradient. Appl Environ. Microbiol. 69:5563-5573.
  7. Feris, K.P., P.W. Ramsey, C. Frazar, M.C. Rillig, J.E. Gannon, and W.E. Holben. 2003b. Structure and seasonal dynamics of hyporheic zone microbial communities in free-stone rivers of the western United States. Microb. Ecol. 46:200-215.
  8. Takai, T., M.R. Mormile, J.P. McKinley, F.J. Brockman, W.E. Holben, W.P. Kovacik, and J.K. Fredrickson. 2003. Shifts in archaeal communities associated with lithological and geochemical variations in subsurface Cretaceous rock. Environ. Microbiol. 5:309-320.
  9. DeFlaun, M, D. Balkwill, J. Chen, M. DeFlaun, F. Dobbs, H. Dong, J. Fredrickson, M. Fuller, M. Green, T. Ginn, T. Griffin, W. Holben, S. Hubbard, W. Johnson, P. Long, B. Mailloux, E. Majer, M. McInerney, C. Murray, T. Onstott, T. Phelps, T. Scheibe, D. Swift, D. White, and F. Wobber. 2001. Breakthroughs in Field-scale Bacterial Transport. Eos. 38:417:425.
  10. DeFlaun, M.F., M.E. Fuller, P. Zhang, W.P. Johnson, B.J. Mailloux, W.E. Holben, W.P. Kovacik, D.L. Balkwill, and T.C. Onstott. 2001. Comparison of methods for monitoring bacterial transport in the subsurface. J. Microbiol. Methods 47:219-231.
  11. Johnson, W. P., P. Zhang, M. E. Fuller, T. D. Scheibe, B. J. Mailloux, T. C. Onstott, M. F. DeFlaun, S. S. Hubbard, J. Radtke, W. P. Kovacik, and W. Holben. 2001. Ferrographic tracking of bacterial transport in the field at the Narrow Channel focus area, Oyster, VA. Environ. Sci. Technol. 35:182-191.
  12. Holben, W.E. and P.H. Ostrom. 2000. Monitoring bacterial transport by stable isotope enrichment of cells. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66:4935-4939.
  13. Kieft, T.L. E.M. Murphy, D.L. Haldeman, P.S. Amy, B.N. Bjornstad, E.V. McDonald, D. B. Ringelberg, D.C. White, J. Stair, R.P. Griffiths, T.C. Gsell, W.E. Holben, and D.R. Boone. 1998. Microbial transport, survival, and succession in a sequence of buried sediments. Microb. Ecol. 36:336-348
  14. Holben, W.E., K. Noto, T. Sumino and Y. Suwa. 1998. Molecular analysis of bacterial communities in a three-compartment granular activated sludge system indicates community-level control by incompatible nitrification processes. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 1998 64: 2528-2532.
  15. Gsell, T.C., W.E. Holben and R.M. Ventullo. 1997. Characterization of the sediment bacterial community in groundwater discharge zones of an alkaline fen: a seasonal study. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 63:3111-3118.
  16. DeFlaun, M.F., C.J. Murray, W. Holben, T. Scheibe, A. Mills, T. Ginn, T. Griffin, E. Majer and J.L. Wilson. 1997. Preliminary observations on bacterial transport in a coastal plain aquifer. FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 20:473-487 .
  17. Schleper, C., W.E. Holben and H.-P. Klenk. 1997. Recovery of crenarchaeotal ribosomal DNA sequences from freshwater-lake sediments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 63:321-323
  18. Holben, W.E. 1997. Isolation and purification of bacterial community DNA from environmental samples. pp 431-436 in C.H. Hurst, G.R. Knudsen, M.J. McInerny, L.D. Stetzenbach and M.V. Walter (eds.) Manual of Environmental Microbiology. American Society for Microbiology Press, Washington, D.C.

Contact Information:

Bill Holben, Professor
Microbial Ecology Program
Division of Biological Sciences
The University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812-0001

Phone: 406-243-6163
Fax:406-243-4184
E-mail: bill.holben@mso.umt.edu
Website: http://biology.dbs.umt.edu/dbs/holben.htm