Keith Cooksey, Ph.D.

Research Professor

 

Office: 113B Lewis Hall

Telephone: 406 994-6136

 

Lab: 103 Cooley Lab

Telephone: 406 994-3022

 

Email: umbkc@montana.edu

Research Interests

            Diatoms are microscopic brown algae with silicon dioxide cell walls. They are found on most illuminated wetted surfaces where they form biofilms that are difficult to remove by mechanical or hydraulic means. In the sea and freshwater streams, they cover all rocks. In fast-moving streams they are responsible for most of the photosynthetic carbon input to the community. In the marine environment attached diatoms also drive the physiology of the biofilm of which they are the most visually obvious component. Practical results of their activity are the increased hydrodynamic drag on ships, buoys and other marine structures, as well as deterioration of in situ sensor equipment. Diatoms and their extracellular polymers are also responsible for the stabilization of near-shore marine sediments and thus they protect coastal areas from erosion. We have found that bacteria indigenous to diatom biofilms control the extent to which these films form. The active material from the bacteria has properties similar to those of a lectin.

            The Cooksey laboratory is involved in various aspects of the above, i.e.,  (i). An investigation concerning how this bacterial lectin controls diatom activity, (ii). Whether an antibiotic from a marine bacterium can be used as a natural antifoulant,  (iii). Assessment of the “work of removal” of marine organisms from candidate antifouling polymers that fall into the class of fouling release coatings. This latter project is being carried out in collaboration with the Image and Chemical Analysis Laboratory of MSU, Dr. Recep Avci, Director (http://www.physics.montana.edu/ical/ical.html). The work involves the immobilization of a microorganism on the tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM) and its use as a bioprobe to report on the surface chemistry of candidate marine antifouling coating polymers. Thus candidate coatings can be assessed for their ability to release attached organisms. An ideal coating would be one where the work of removal of the organism was small, (iv). Identification of which of the diatom extracellular polymers is involved in the initial adhesion of the cells to surfaces. Collaborating on this project is Dr. Jody De Brouwer at NIOO, The Netherlands. It makes use of imaging Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry.

Figures from a recent paper ( Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2005)

Figure 1     Figure 2     Figure 3     Figure 4

Unforutunately Dr. Cooksey is not accepting student applications as this time.

Education:

B.S., University of Birmingham, U.K., 1956

Ph.D., University of Birmingham, U.K., 1959

Professional Experience:

Research Professor Emeritus, Department of Microbiology, current. Director, Montana Defense Experimental Program for the Stimulation of Competitive Research, (DEPSCoR), current.  Deputy Head, Acting Head, Department of Microbiology, MSU (    )  Liaison Scientist for Europe and the Middle East, Office of Naval Research, Department of Defense, (1989-1991).
Teaching: 

MB 432, Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, 3 credits, Spring semesters, as required.

Some Recent Publications: 

   With B.  Wigglesworth-Cooksey and D.Berglund, Cell-cell and cell-surface interactions in an illuminated biofilm: Implications for marine sediment stabilization.  Geochemical Trans.  10 : 75-81,(2001) (Online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/b107814n)

 With B. Wigglesworth-Cooksey, Diatoms in Biofilms, Wiley Encyclopedia of Environmental Microbiology, 1051-1063, (2002).

With Arce, F.T., Avci, R., Beech, I.B., Wigglesworth-Cooksey, B. Microelastic properties of minimally-adhesive surfaces: A comparative study of RTV-11 and Intersleek polymers . J Phys. Chem, 119:1671-1682, (2003).

 With Wigglesworth-Cooksey B. Use of fluorescently – conjugated lectins to study cell-cell interactions in model marine biofilms, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 71 :428-435, (2004).

With Arce, F.T. Avci, R., Beech I.B. and Wigglresworth-Cooksey, B. A live probe for studying diatom-surface interactions. Biophysical J. 87 :4284-4297, (2004).

Current Grant Support:

With Recep Avci, Department of Physics, MSU. Determination of adhesion and friction forces in marine biofilm systems using chemical force microscopy, Office of Naval Research