E. Virginia Armbrust

Ginger Armbrust Principal Investigator armbrust at u.washington.edu

Phytoplankton are the main focus of research in our lab. These organisms are responsible for about 40% of the total amount of photosynthesis that occurs on our planet. They play a critical role in the global carbon cycle and ultimately in global climate. Because much of the organic carbon generated by phytoplankton is used by bacteria, we also study bacterial/phytoplankton interactions.

Education

• Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Biological Oceanography, 1990. Thesis advisor: Sallie W. Chisholm. Thesis title: The Life Cycle of the Centric Diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii: Control of Gametogenesis and Cell Size.


• B.A., Stanford University, Human Biology, 1980.

Positions Held

• Professor School of Oceanography, University of Washington, 2006-present
• Associate Professor, School of Oceanography, University of Washington, 2002- 2006
• Assistant Professor, School of Oceanography, University of Washington, 1996-2002
• NSF Marine Biotechnology and Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biology, Washington University, 1990-1995. Postdoctoral advisor: Ursula W. Goodenough
• Graduate Research Assistant, Biological Oceanography, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1983-1990
• Research Technician, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, 1981-1983
• Research Technician, California Department of Fish and Game, 1980-1981

Publications

• Marchetti, A., D. E. Varela, V. Lance, Z. Johnson M. Palmucci, M. Giordano and E. V. Armbrust. Iron and silicic acid effects on phytoplankton productivity, diversity, and chemical composition in the central equatorial Pacific Ocean. Limnology  & Oceanography, in press.
• Holtermann, K. E., S. S. Bates, V. L. Trainer, A. Odell, E. V Armbrust. Mass Sexual Reproduction in the Toxigenic Diatoms Pseudo-nitzschi australis and P. pungens (Bacillariophyceae) on the Washington Coast, USA. J. Phycology, in press.  
• Carpenter, S. R., E. V. Armbrust, P. W. Arzberger, F. S. Chapin, III, J. J. Elser, E. J. Hackett, A. R. Ives, P. M. Kareiva, M. A. Leibold, P. Lundberg, M. Mangel, N. Merchant, W. W. Murdoch, M. A. Palmer, D. P. C. Peters, S. T. A. Pickett, K. K. Smith, D. H. Wall, A. S. Zimmerman. 2009. Synthesis must be accelerated in ecology and environmental sciences. BioScience 59:699-701.
• Durkin, C., T. Mock and E. V. Armbrust. 2009. Chitin in diatoms and its association with the cell wall. Eukaryotic Cell 8:1038-1050.
• Armbrust, E. V. 2009. The life of diatoms in the world’s oceans. Nature 459:185-192.
• Worden, A.Z., J-H. Lee, T. Mock, P. Rouzé, M.P. Simmons, A.L. Aerts, A.E. Allen, M.L. Cuvelier, E. Derelle, M.V. Everett, E. Foulon, J. Grimwood, H. Gundlach, B. Henrissat, C. Napoli1, S.M. McDonald, M.S. Parker, S. Rombauts, A. Salamov, P. Von Dassow, J.H. Badger, P.M. Coutinho, E. Demir, I. Dubchak, C. Gentemann, W. Eikrem, J.E. Gready, U. John, W. Lanier, E.A. Lindquist, S. Lucas, K.F.X. Mayer, H. Moreau, F. Not, R. Otillar, O. Panaud, J. Pangilinan, I. Paulsen, B. Piegu, A. Poliakov, S. Robbens, J. Schmutz, E. Toulza, T. Wyss, A. Zelensky, K. Zhou, E.V. Armbrust, D. Bhattacharya, U.W. Goodenough, Y. Van de Peer, and I.V. Grigoriev. 2009. Green evolution and dynamic adaptations revealed by genomes of the marine picoeukaryotes Micromonas. Science 324:268-272.
• Marchetti, A., M. S. Parker, L. P. Moccia, E. O. Lin, A. L. Arrieta, F. Ribalet, M. E.P. Murphy, M. T. Maldonado and E. V. Armbrust. 2009. Ferritin is used for iron storage in bloom-forming marine pennate diatoms. Nature 457:467-470.
• Maheswari, U., Mock, T., Armbrust, E. V., Bowler, C. 2009. Update of the diatom EST database: a new tool for digital transcriptomics. Nucleic Acids Research doi: 10.1093/nar/gkn905.
• Rynearson, T. A., E. O. Lin, R. A. Horner, and E. V. Armbrust. 2009. Gene flow and metapopulation structure in the planktonic diatom Ditylum brightwellii. Protist160:111-121.
• Parker, M. S., T. Mock and E. V. Armbrust. 2008. Genomic insights into marine microalgae. Annual Review of Genetics 42: 619-645.
• Sosik, H. M., R. J. Olson, and E. V. Armbrust. Flow cytometry in plankton research. 2008.In D. J. Suggett, O. Prasil and M. A. Borowitzka [eds.], Chlorophyll a fluorescence in aquatic sciences: methods and applications. Springer.
• Smarr, L., P. Gilna, P. Papadopoulos, T. A. DeFanti, G. Hidley, J. Wooley, E. V. Armbrust, F. Rohwer, E. Frost. 2008. Building an OptIPlanet collaboratory to support microbial metagenomics. Future Generation Computer Systems doi:10.1016/j.future.2008.06.009.
• Bowler C., A. E. Allen, J. H. Badger, J. Grimwood, K. Jabbari, A. Kuo, U. Maheswari1, C. Martens, F. Maumus, R. P.Otillar, E. Rayko, A. Salamov, K. Vandepoele, B. Beszteri, A. Gruber, M. Heijde, M. Katinka, T. Mock, K. Valentin, F.Vérret, J. A. Berges, C. Brownlee, J.-P. Cadoret, A. Chiovitti,C. J. Choi, S. Coesel, A. De Martino, J. C. Detter, C. Durkin, A. Falciatore, J. Fournet, M. Haruta, M. Huysman, B. D. Jenkins, K. Jiroutova, R. E. Jorgensen, Y. Joubert, Aaron Kaplan, N. Kroeger, P. Kroth, J. La Roche, E. Lindquist, M. Lommer,V. Martin-Jézéquel, P. J. Lopez, S. Lucas, Manuela Mangogna2, K. McGinnis, L. K. Medlin, A. Montsant, M.-P. Oudot-Le Secq, C. Napoli, M. Obornik, J.-L. Petit, B. M. Porcel, N. Poulsen, M. Robison, L. Rychlewski, T. A. Rynearson, J. Schmutz, M. S. Parker, H. Shapiro, M. Siaut, M. Stanley, M. J. Sussman, A. Taylor, A. Vardi, P. von Dassow, W. Vyverman, A. Willis, L. S. Wyrwicz, D. S. Rokhsar, J. Weissenbach, E. V. Armbrust, B. R. Green, Y. Van de Peer, I. V. Grigoriev. 2008. The Phaeodactylum genome reveals the dynamic nature and multi-lineage evolutionary history of diatom genomes. Nature 456: 239 - 244.
• Nuwer, M., B. W. Frost and E. V. Armbrust. 2008. Population structure of the pelagic copepod Calanus pacificus in the North Pacific Ocean. Marine Biology DOI 10.1007/s00227-008-1068-y
• Iglesias-Rodriguez, M. D., P. R. Halloran, R. E. M. Rickaby, I. R. Hall, E. Colmenero-Hidalgo, J. R. Gittins, D. R. H. Green, T. Tyrrell, S. J. Gibbs, P. von Dassow, E. Rehm, E. V. Armbrust, K. P. Boessenkool. 2008. Phytoplankton calcification in a high CO2 world. Science 320:336-340.
• Mock, T., M. P. Samanta, V. Iverson, C. Berthiaume, M. Robison, K. Holtermann, C. Durkin, S. Splinter BonDurant, K. Richmond, M. Rodesch, F. Cerrina, M. R. Sussman, E. V. Armbrust. 2008. Whole genome expression profiling of the marine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana identifies genes involved in silicon bioprocesses. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci, USA, 105:1579-1584.
• Marchetti, A., N. Lundholm, Y. Kotaki, K.A. Hubbard, P. J. Harrison, and E. V. Armbrust. 2008. Identification and assessment of domoic acid production in oceanic Pseudo-nitzschia (Bacillariophyceae) from HNLC waters in the northeast subarctic Pacific. Journal of Phycology 44: 650-661.
• Hubbard, K.A., G. Rocap, and E.V. Armbrust. 2008. Inter- and intra-specific community structure within the diatom genus Pseudo-nitzschia. Journal of Phycology 44:637-649.
• von Dassow, P., T. W. Petersen, V. A. Chepurnov, and E. V. Armbrust. 2008. Inter- and intraspecific relations between nuclear DNA content and cell size in selected members of Thalassiosira (Bacillariophyceae). Journal of Phycology 44:335-349
• Kroth, P. G., A. Chiovitti, A. Gruber, V. Martin-Jezequel, T. Mock, M. S. Parker, M. S. Stanley, M. S. Stanley, A. Kaplan, L. Caron, T. Weber, U. Maheswari, E. V. Armbrust and C. Bowler. 2008. A Model for Carbohydrate Metabolism in the Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum Deduced from Comparative Whole Genome Analysis. PLoS ONE 3(1): e1426. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001426.
• Moran, M.A. and E. V. Armbrust. Genomes of Sea Microbes. Oceanography, June 2007, 47-55.
• Lau, W.W.Y., R. G. Keil, and E. V. Armbrust. 2007. Response and succession of the glycolate-utilizing component of the bacterial community during a spring phytoplankton bloom. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 73:2440-2450.
• Oudot-Le Secq, M.-P., J. Grimwood, H. Shapiro, C. Bowler, E.V. Armbrust and B. R. Green. 2007. Chloroplast genomes of the diatoms Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Thalassiosira pseudonana: Comparison with other plastid genomes of the red lineage. Molecular Genetics and Genomics 277:427- 439.
• Montsant, A. A. E. Allen, S. Coesel, A. De Martino, A. Falciatore, M. Heijde, K. Jabbari, U. Maheswari, M. Mangogna, E. Rayko, M. Siaut, A. Vardi, K. E. Apt, J. A. Berges, A. Chiovitti, A. K. Davis, M. Z. Hadi, T. W. Lane, J. C. Lippmeier, D.Martinez, M. S. Parker, G. J. Pazour, M. A. Saito, K. Thamatrakoln, D. S. Rokhsar, E. V. Armbrust, C. Bowler. 2007. Identification and comparative genomic analysis of signaling and regulatory components in the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana. Journal of Phycology 43:585-604.
• Unal, E., B. W. Frost, E. V. Armbrust, and A. E. Kideys. 2006. Phylogeography of Calanus helgolandicus and the Black Sea copepod Calanus euxinus, with notes on Pseudocalanus elongates (Copepoda, Calanoida). Deep Sea Research II 53:1961-1975.
• Rynearson, T. A. and E.V. Armbrust. 2006. Succession, bloom development and genetic variation in /Ditylum brightwellii/ during the spring growth season. Limnology and Oceanography 51:1249-1261.
• von Dassow, P., V. Chepurnov, E. V. Armbrust. 2006. Relationships between growth rate, cell size, and induction of permatogenesis in the centric diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii (Bacillariophyta). Journal of Phycology 42:887-899.
• Chepurnov, V. A., D. G. Mann, P. von Dassow, E. V. Armbrust, K. Sabbe, R. Dasseville, and W. Vyverman. 2006. Oogamous reproduction, with two-step auxosporulation, in the centric diatom Thalassiosira punctigera (Bacillariophyta). Journal of Phycology 42:845-858.
• Svderup, K. and E. V. Armbrust. 2006. An Introduction to the World's Oceans, 9th edition, McGraw Hill.
• Lau, W.W.Y. and E. V. Armbrust. 2006. Detection of glycolate oxidase glcD gene diversity among cultured and environmental marine bacteria. Environmental Microbiology8:1688-1702
• Armbrust, E. V., T. A. Rynearson and B.D. Jenkins. 2006. Genomic Insights into Diatom Evolution and Metabolism. In: Genome Evolution in Eukaryotic Microbes, edited by Laura A. Katz and Debashish Bhattacharya.
• Parker, M.S. and E. V. Armbrust. 2005. Synergistic effects of light, temperature, and nitrogen source on transcription of genes for carbon and nitrogen metabolism in the centric diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana (Bacillariophyceae). Journal of Phycology 41:1142-1153. Full Text Link
• Rynearson, T.A, and E. V. Armbrust. 2005. Maintenance of clonal diversity during a spring bloom of the centric diatom Ditylum brightwellii. Molecular Ecology 14: 1631-1640.
• Paffenhofer, G.A., A. Iaora, A. Miralto, J. T. Turner, G.S. Kleppel, M. R. D'Alcala, R. Casotti, G. S. Caldwell, G. Pohnert, A. fntana, D. Muller-Navarra, S. E. Jonasdottir, E. V. Armbrust, U. Bamstedt, S. Ban, M. G. Bentley, M. Boersma, M. Bundy, I. Buttino, A. Calbet, F. Carlotti, Y. Carotenuto, G. d'Ippolito, B. Frost, G. Guisande, W. Lampert, R. F. Lee, S. Mazza, M. G. Massocchi, J. C. Nejstgaard, S. A. Poulet, G. Romano, V. Smetacek, S. Uye, S. Wakeham, S. Watson, T. wichard. 2005. Colloquium on diatom-copepod interactions. Marine Ecology Progress Series 286:293-305.
• Armbrust, E. Virginia, John A Berges, Chris Bowler, Beverley R. Green, Diego Martinez, Nicholas H. Putnam, Shiguo Zhou, Andrew E. Allen, Kirk E. Apt, Michael Bechner, Mark A. Brzezinski, Balbir K. Chaal, Anthony Chiovitti, Aubrey K.Davis, Mark S. Demarest, J. Chris Detter, Tijana Glavina, David Goodstein, Masood Z. Hadi, Uffe Hellsten, Mark Hildebrand, Bethany D. Jenkins, Jerzy Jurka, Vladimir V. Kapitonov, N. Kröger, Winnie W.Y. Lau, Todd W. Lane, Frank W. Larimer, J. Casey Lippmeier, Susan Lucas, Mónica Medina, Anton Montsant, Miroslav Obornik, Micaela Schnitzler Parker, B. Palenik, Gregory J. Pazour, Paul M. Richardson, Tatiana A. Rynearson, Mak A. Saito, David C. Schwartz, Kimberlee Thamatrakoln, Klaus Valentin, Assaf Vardi, Frances P. Wilkerson, and D. S. Rokhsar. 2004. The genome of the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana: Ecology, evolution and metabolism. Science 306: 79-86 Abstract Link Full Text Link
• Parker, M. S., E. V. Armbrust, J. Piovia-Scott and R G. Keil. 2004. Induction of photorespiration by light in the centric diatom /Thalassiosira weissflogii/ (Bacillariophyceae): Molecular characterization and physiological consequences. Journal of Phycology 40:557-567. Full Text Link
• Rynearson, T. A. and E. V. Armbrust. 2004. Genetic differentiation among populations of the planktonic marine diatom Ditylum brightwellii (bacillariophyceae). Journal of Phycology 40:34-43.
• Lau, W. W. Y., P. A. Jumars, E. V. Armbrust. 2002. Genetic diversity of attached bacteria in the hindgut of the deposit-feeding shrimp Neotrypaea (formerly Callianassa) californiensis (Decapoda: Thalassinidae). Microbial Ecology 43:455-466.
• Ferris, P. J., E. V. Armbrust, U. W. Goodenough. 2002. Genetic structure of the mating-type loci of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Genetics 160: 181-200.
• Campbell, A. M., A.J. Coble, T.H. Ch'ng, K.M. Russo, E.M. Long, and E. V. Armbrust. 2001. Identification and DNA sequence of a new H+-ATPase in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Journal of Phycology 37:536-542.
• Armbrust, E. V. and H. M. Galindo. 2001. Rapid evolution of a sexual reproduction gene in centric diatoms of the genus Thalassiosira. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 67:3501-3513.
• Armbrust, E. V. 2000. Structural features of nuclear genes in the centric diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii (Bacillariophyceae). Journal of Phycology 36:942-946.
• Rynearson, T. A. and E. V. Armbrust. 2000. DNA fingerprinting reveals extensive genetic diversity in a field population of the centric diatom Ditylum brightwellii. Limnology and Oceanography 45:1329-1340.
• Armbrust, E.V. 1999. Identification of a novel gene family expressed during the onset of sexual reproduction in the centric diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 65:3121-3128.
• Crump, B. C., E. V. Armbrust, J. A. Baross. 1999. Phylogenetic analysis of particle-attached and free-living bacterial communities in the Columbia River estuary and adjacent coastal ocean. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 65:3192-3204.
• Armbrust, E.V. 1998. Uniparental inheritance of Chloroplast Genomes. In: Molecular Biology of Chlamydomonas: Chloroplasts and Mitochondria, J.-D. Rochaix, M. Goldschmidt-Clermont, S. Merchant, Eds., Kluwer Academic Publishers.
• Armbrust, E.V., A. Ibrahim, U.W. Goodenough. 1995. A mating type-linked mutation that disrupts the uniparental inheritance of the chloroplast genome also disrupts cell size control in Chlamydomonas. Molecular Biology of the Cell 6(12):1807-1818.
• Goodenough, U.W., E.V. Armbrust, A.M. Campbell, P.J. Ferris. 1995. Molecular genetics of sexuality in Chlamydomonas. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology 46:21-44.
• Armbrust, E.V., P.J. Ferris, U.W. Goodenough. 1993. A mating type-linked gene cluster expressed in Chlamydomonas zygotes participates in the uniparental inheritance of the chloroplast genome. Cell 74:801-811.
• Armbrust, E.V., S.W. Chisholm. 1992. Patterns of cell size change in a marine diatom: variability evolving from clonal isolates. Journal of Phycology 28:146-156.
• Armbrust, E.V., R.J. Olson, S.W. Chisholm. 1990. Role of light and the cell cycle on the induction of spermatogenesis in a centric diatom. Journal of Phycology 26:470-478.
• Olson, R.J., S.W. Chisholm, E.R. Zettler, E.V. Armbrust. 1990. Pigments, size and distributions of Synechococcus in the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Limnology and Oceanography 35:45-58.
• Armbrust, E.V., J.D. Bowen, R.J. Olson, S.W. Chisholm. 1989. Effect of light on the cell cycle of a marine Synechococcus strain. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 55(2):425-432.
• Olson, R.J., S.W Chisholm, E.R. Zettler, E.V. Armbrust. 1988. Analysis of Synechococcus pigment types in the sea using single and dual beam flow cytometry. Deep Sea Research 35(3):425-440.
• Anderson, D.M., C.D. Taylor, E.V. Armbrust. 1987. The effects of darkness and anaerobiosis on dinoflagellate cyst germination. Limnology and Oceanography 32(2):340-351.
• Chisholm, S.W., E.V. Armbrust, R.J. Olson. 1986. The individual cell in phytoplankton ecology: cell cycles and flow cytometry. p. 343-369. In: T. Platt and W. K. W. Li [Eds.] Photosynthetic Picoplankton, Can. Bull. Fish. Aq. Sci. #214.