What We are Doing

Bacterial cells are incredibly diverse and complex organisms that play vital roles in many environmental processes, from nutrient cycling to bioremediation. However, studying these cells in their natural habitats can be challenging, especially when trying to isolate and identify specific populations. Our research is focused on developing innovative techniques for studying and manipulating bacterial cells in their natural environments. 

One of our current projects is investigating ways to stain bacterial cells with fluorescent tags without harming them, using cutting-edge technologies like flow cytometry and microfluidics. Our research team is currently working on optimizing our staining protocol to ensure that it is effective and minimally invasive. We're exploring different types of fluorescent markers and developing new methods for introducing them into bacterial cells. We're excited about the potential applications of our new technology, from improving our understanding of microbial ecology to enhancing the efficiency of bioremediation processes or other microbial applications.

Farmland areas where the soils are contaminated with significant amount of heavy metals are estimated over 20 million square meters in Taiwan, including arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, copper, chromium, etc. Industrial effluent entering irrigation streams is the main sources of heavy metal accumulation to farmland soils even though the effluent may be standards-compliant. 

The current heavy metal removal techniques applied to soils are majorly by efficient physical or chemical treatments. Biological treatments are thought to be more environmentally friendly and less harmful to keep the soil fertility, but with many restrictions to be applied for heavy metals removing away from soils because collecting the biomass accumulated with heavy metals is almost impossible. We are going to construct a heavy metal bioadsorption cell by using magnetotactic bacteria where its cell surface is able to capture different heavy metals separately. Besides, magnetic crystals synthesized in magnetosomes by magnetotactic bacteria will allow us to harvest and separate heavy metal accumulated biomass from the treated soil particles.

Engineered microbial consortia are communities of microorganisms that are designed to perform specific functions, such as bioremediation, in soil and groundwater environments. These consortia are typically composed of multiple species of microorganisms that have complementary metabolic pathways, allowing them to work together to efficiently degrade pollutants. By engineering microbial consortia, scientists can create tailored solutions for specific bioremediation challenges, which can be more effective and efficient than using single species. 

Bioremediation is the process of using microorganisms to break down or remove pollutants from soil and groundwater. Engineered microbial consortia can be used for bioremediation of a wide range of contaminants. The benefits of using microbial consortia for bioremediation include their ability to degrade multiple pollutants simultaneously, their adaptability to changing environmental conditions, and their potential for long-term sustainability. Additionally, microbial consortia can be engineered to enhance their degradation capabilities or to work under specific conditions, such as low oxygen environments.

Our research is focusing on using communities of microorganisms that work together to efficiently degrade BTEX and restore contaminated environments by  designing and optimizing microbial consortia to enhance their capabilities for BTEX bioremediation.

Alkaliphilic bacteria are a unique group of microorganisms that thrive in high-pH environments, such as alkaline soils, lakes, and industrial wastewaters. Despite their potential for biotechnological applications, the metabolic and enzymatic capabilities of these bacteria are still poorly understood. That's why our research team is focused on studying the metabolic pathways and enzyme activities of alkaliphilic bacteria under different alkaline conditions.

One of our current projects is investigating the potential of alkaliphilic bacteria for removing organic pollutants from alkaline wastewater and fixing carbon dioxide using their enzyme activity under alkaline conditions. By understanding how alkaliphilic bacteria can remove organic pollutants from alkaline wastewater or fix carbon dioxide using their enzyme activity, we hope to develop new biotechnological applications that can help to reduce pollution and mitigate climate change.