Gary M. King

Professor of Microbiology
C.S. Darling Distinguished
Professor of Oceanography

Ph.D. University of Georgia

Darling Marine Center
University of Maine
Walpole, ME 04573

Phone: (207) 563 3146 ext. 207
Fax: (207) 563-3119
Email: gking@maine.edu

Degree programs:

Microbiology, Marine Science, Oceanography, Ecology and Environmental Science

Research Interests:

My research addresses problems in microbial ecology and microbial biogeochemistry, with specific emphases on trace gas transformations. Current primary interests include the dynamics of methane, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, nitric oxide and nitrous oxide as affected by microbes, and interactions between microbes and plants, and microbes and animals. Research efforts include aspects of the physiological ecology of trace-gas transforming microbes; associations between plant roots and microbes that affect gas production or consumption; and trace gas dynamics in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Field studies involve gas exchange in wetlands, forests, agroecosystems and nearshore marine environments as well as recent (0-300 yr old) volcanic deposits. Techniques and approaches in these various studies range from applications of molecular tools to isolation and characterization of novel microbes to considerations of microbial contributions to global trace gas budgets on a global scale.

Teaching interests:

Microbial ecology, biogeochemistry, systems modeling

Selected Publications:

Rich, J.J. and G.M. King. 1999. Aerobic and anaerobic transformations of carbon monoxide in freshwater peats. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 28:215-224.

King, G.M. 1999. Characteristics and significance of atmospheric carbon monoxide consumption by soils. Chemosphere: Global Change Sci. 1:53-63.

King, G.M. 1999. Attributes of atmospheric carbon monoxide oxidation in Maine forest soils. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65:5257-5264.

Chung, W.K. and G.M. King. 1999. Potential polyaromatic hydrocarbon degradation and biogeochemical transformations in macrofaunal burrow sediments. Aquat. Microb. Ecol. 19:285-295.

King, G.M. and M.A. Garey. 1999. Ferric iron reduction by bacteria associated with the roots of freshwater and marine macrophytes. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65:4393-4398.

Nanba, K. and G.M. King. 2000. Response of atmospheric methane consumption by Maine forest soils to exogenous aluminum salts. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66:3674-3679.

King, G.M. 2000. Impacts of land use on atmospheric carbon monoxide consumption by soils. Glob. Biogeochem. Cyc. 14:1161-1172.

Milligan, P. and G.M. King. 2000. Carbon monoxide production is not enhanced by nitrogenase activity. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 34:157-160.

Benstead, J. and G.M. King. 2001. The effect of acidification on atmospheric methane uptake by a Maine forest soil. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 34:207-212.

Hardy, K. and G.M. King. 2001. Enrichment of high affinity CO oxidizers in Maine forest soil. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.67:361-3676.

King, G.M. 2001. Radiotracer assays (35S) of sulfate reduction rates in marine and freshwater sediments. pp. 489- 500. In, J. Paul (ed.), Methods in Marine Microbiology. Academic Press.

King, G.M. 2001. Radiotracer (14C and 3H) assays in benthic biogeochemistry. In, Hurst, C.J. et al. (eds.). Manual of Environmental Microbiology. ASM, Washington, D.C.

Chung, W.-K. and G.M. King. 2001. Isolation, characterization and polyaromatic hydrocarbon degradation potential of aerobic bacteria from marine macrofaunal burrow sediments and description of Lutibacterium anuloederans gen. nov., sp. nov., and Cycloclasticus spirillensis sp. nov. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67:5585-5592.

Smith, C.R., M. Austen, G. Boucher, C. Heip, P. Hutchings, G. King, I. Koike, J. Lambshead, and P. Snelgrove. 2000. Anthropogenic global change and biodiversity of marine sediments: impacts and linkages across the sediment-water interface. Bioscience 50:1076-1088.

King, G.M. 2001. Aspects of carbon monoxide production and consumption by marine macroalgae. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 224:69-75.

Snelgrove, P.V.R., M. Austen, G. Boucher, C. Heip, P. Hutchings, G. King, I. Koike, J. Lambshead and C. Smith. 2000. Linking biodiversity above and below the marine sediment-water interface. Bioscience 50:1108-1120.

Austen, M.C., J.D. Lambshead, P.A. Hutchings, G. Boucher, P.V.R. Snelgrove, C. Heip, G.M. King, I. Koike, C. Smith. 2002. Biodiversity links above and below the marine sediment-water interface that may influence community stability. Biodev. Cons. 11:113-136.

King, G.M. and M. Hungria. in press. Soil-atmosphere CO exchanges and microbial biogeochemistry of CO transformations in a Brazilian agroecosystem. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.

King, G.M. and H. Crosby. in press. Impacts of plant roots on soil CO cycling and soil-atmosphere CO exchange. Glob. Change Biol.