My research interests primarily revolve around understanding the adaptive strategies employed by Archaea and Bacteria from extreme environments such as the deep-sea or hypersaline lakes.  I am particularly interested in elucidating the molecular and genetic mechanisms used by these microbes to thrive under adverse ecological conditions. 

Some recent areas of study in my laboratory (includes student projects):

• Examination of salt-regulated gene expression in Haloferax volcanii
• Characterization of stress-responsive proteins in haloarchaea    
• Effects of chemotherapeutic drugs on enteric bacteria***
• Testing the upper salt tolerance of marine microbes found in salt marsh ponds***

(***Student was a recipient of an American Society for Microbiology Undergraduate Research Fellowship)

2007-2010


2003-2006

National Science Foundation. "RUI: Examination of the genetic mechanisms used to control the expression of salinity-regulated proteins in the archaeon Haloferax volcanii" $294,000. Principle Investigator.

National Science Foundation.  “RUI:  Characterization of salinity regulated genes in the archaeal halophile, Haloferax volcanii” $255, 000.  Principle Investigator.

1996-1998

Robinson, K. A., F. T. Robb, and H. J. Schreier.  1994.  Isolation of maltose-regulated genes from the hyperthermophilic archaeum Pyrococcus furiosus by subtractive hybridization.  Gene 148: 137-141.

Robinson, K. A. and H. J. Schreier.  1994.  Isolation, sequence, and characterization of the maltose-regulated mlrA gene from the hyperthermophilic archaeum Pyrococcus furiosus.  Gene 151: 173-176.

Robinson, K. A., D. A. Bartley, F. T. Robb, and H. J. Schreier.  1995.  A gene from the hyperthermophile, Pyrococcus furiosus, whose deduced product is homologous to members of the prolyl oligopeptidase family of proteases.  Gene 152: 103-106.

Robinson, K. A., F. T. Robb, and H. J. Schreier.  1995. Generation of subtraction probes for isolation of specific genes in thermophilic Archaea.  In  Archaea: A Laboratory Manual.  F. T. Robb, K. R. Sowers, S. DasSarma, A. R. Place, H. J. Schreier, and E. M. Fleischmann (eds.)  Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY.  Vol 3: pp. 119-123. 

Harwood, V. J., J. D. Denson, K. A. Robinson-Bidle, and H. J. Schreier.  1997. Overexpression and characterization of a prolyl endopeptidase from the hyperthermophilic Archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus. J. Bacteriol. 179: 3613-3618.

Schreier, H. J., K. A. Robinson-Bidle, A. M. Romashko,  and G. V. Patel.  1999.  Heterologous expression in the Archaea:  transcription from Pyrococcus furiosus gdh and mlrA promoters in Haloferax volcanii.  Extremophiles.  3: 11-19.

Bartlett, D. H. and K. A. Bidle.  1999. Membrane-based adaptations of deep-sea piezophiles.  In Enigmatic Microorganisms and Life in Extreme Environments.  J. Seckbach, ed.  Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.  pp.501-512. 

Bidle, K. A. and D. H. Bartlett.  1999.  RecD function is required for high pressure growth in a deep-sea bacterium.  J. Bacteriol.  181: 2330-2337.

Bidle, K. A., M. Kastner, and D. H. Bartlett.  1999.  A phylogenetic analysis of microbial communities associated with methane hydrate containing marine fluids and sediments in the Cascadia Margin (ODP Site 892b).  FEMS Microbiol. Lett.  177: 101-108. 

Kastner, M., B. Carson, D. Bartlett, J. Jaeger, K. Bidle, and H. Jannasch.  2000.  An in situ experiment of methane sequestration as gas hydrate, authigenic carbonate, and loss to the water column and/or atmosphere.  In Gas Hydrates: Challenges for the Future.  G. D. Holder and P. R. Bishnoi, eds.  The New York Academy of Sciences, New York, NY.  pp. 32-38.

Bidle, K. A. and D. H. Bartlett.  2001. RNA arbitrarily primed PCR survey of genes regulated by ToxR in the deep-sea bacterium Photobacterium profundum strain SS9.  J. Bacteriol.  183: 1688-1693. 

Bidle, K. A.  2003.  Differential expression of genes influenced by changing salinity using RNA arbitrarily primed PCR in the archaeal halophile, Haloferax volcanii.  Extremophiles 7: 1-7.   

Bidle, K. A., W. Amadio, P. S. Oliveira, T. Paulish*, S. Hicks*, and C. Earnest*.  2005.  A phylogenetic analysis of haloarchaea found within a solar saltern. BIOS 76: 89-96. 

Bidle, K. A., T. E. Hanson, K. Howell, and J. Nannen.  2007.  HMG-CoA reductase is regulated in response to salinity in the haloarchaeon Haloferax volcanii.  Extremophiles 11: 49-55.

Bidle, K. A., Kirkland, P. A., Nannen, J., and Maupin-Furlow, J. A. 2008. Proteomic analysis of Haloferax volcanii reveals salinity-mediated regulation of the stress responsive protein PspA. Microbiology 154 1436-1443.