Timothy Klein
I am a second year PhD researcher at the University of East Anglia under the supervision of Dr. Laura Lehtovirta. My research focuses on studying archaeal ammonia oxidisers that are key players in the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen through their role in the nitrification process. Biological nitrification has adverse environmental consequences as it contributes to the loss of soil nitrogen and the production of greenhouse gasses. This requires an in-depth understanding of the archaeal ammonia oxidation pathway and the molecular mechanisms that facilitate AOA adaptation to their environments. Unfortunately, these organisms (AOA) are currently not genetically tractable which limits their study to ‘OMIC’-based analyses and tedious physiology-based studies. To address this issue, this project aims to develop genetic tools for a model AOA which will facilitate in vivo functional studies to better understand the molecular mechanisms of ammonia oxidation.