Women in Soil Science-Australia Seminar Series: Dr Zahra Islam

This month's Women in Soil Science-Australia Seminar Series speaker is Dr Zahra Islam who will be speaking on "From enzymes to ecosystems: a journey from sponge symbiosis to soil microbiology"

About the speaker

Dr Zahra Islam is a lecturer and microbial ecologist at the University of Melbourne, where her research focuses on understanding plant-soil-microbiome interactions. She is developing high throughput methods to isolate and screen beneficial microbes that can be used in biofertilisers to enhance plant growth, as well as testing the effects of newly developed smart fertilisers on microbial communities. Her work encompasses multidisciplinary techniques including both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods to understand the nuances of symbiotic as well as pathogenic interactions between soils, plants and their associated microbes. Zahra obtained her PhD from Monash University in 2020, where her research was focused on understanding how and which bacteria use atmospheric trace gases as alternate energy sources. She has recently been awarded funding, including from the Australian Academy of Science to look into the hydrogen scavenging capacity of microorganisms in agroecosystems. Outside of research, Zahra is passionate about scientific communication and outreach, serving on the executive committees for ASM, ASM Victoria, MEEM and SECAN, as well as authoring media releases in the Microbiologist, the Conversation, Behind the Paper, and Pursuit and participating in popular science events such as Pint of Science. 

Abstract

Microorganisms are everywhere and they are major contributors to all facets of life on Earth, spanning key metabolic processes to global biogeochemical cycling. Using a combinatorial approach including both culture-dependent and culture-independent techniques, my research career thus far has aimed to answer key questions around the role of bacteria within the environment, and how they interact with macroorganisms. I started by studying how bacteria form symbiotic interactions with marine sponges before pivoting to terrestrial ecosystems, focusing on how metabolically flexible bacteria alter their energy generation strategies across a range of environments and conditions. Since then, my research has shifted to nutrient cycling, with a greater focus on the nitrogen cycle and plant-beneficial microbes as part of the ARC Research Hub for Smart Fertilisers. The ability of microorganisms to utilise hydrogen led me to develop my current research program focused on understanding how the cycling capacity of these soil microorganisms could be affected by agricultural management practices, to characterise how microorganism functioning within nutrient cycles can contribute to the futureproofing of the Australian agricultural industry.