The Dunn lab uses molecular and genetic tools to understand how bacterial physiology contributes to the ability of microbes to survive and thrive in the environment, whether while free-living or during association with another organism. Our current model organism is the bioluminescent marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri. This organism has both a free-living and a symbiotic host-associated lifestyle, making it an ideal organism for studying how different physiological attributes contribute to flexibility in lifestyle. V. fischeri has diverse pathways for energy conservation, and the lab is interested in understanding how these pathways contribute to both host colonization and survival outside of the host. Through these studies we have become interested in the unusual respiratory oxidase, alternative oxidase (AOX). We are currently using the wealth of molecular and genetic tools in V. fischeri to better understand how AOX function physiologically benefits bacteria
