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For as long as he can remember, Chris Schuttert has had an affinity for the mysteries of the microbial world. \u201cI suppose what really started it was being a kid and being told that there\u2019s this undiscovered world that we can\u2019t see with our eyes,\u201d says Schuttert. \u201cYou need a microscope and you need different tools to see and analyze it, to look deeper into what makes up who we are.\u201d A PhD student in the University of Rhode Island\u2019s College of the Environment and Life Sciences (CELS), his love for cell and molecular biology is now intrinsically linked to his research. \u201cIt\u2019s just this whole beautiful orchestra that we really need to take a closer look at to fully understand,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Schuttert\u2019s research focuses on pathogens (disease-causing bacteria) and probiotics (beneficial bacteria) that live in the oyster microenvironment and how they interact with each other. In particular, he is interested in the pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus<\/em>, which has been responsible for massive losses of oyster larvae in commercial oyster hatcheries. Schuttert looks at the different ways in whichthe pathogen killsoysters,including two attack mechanisms hedescribes as a \u201cbacterial jousting lance\u201d that they use to inject oyster cells with toxins, killing the larvae.\u201cThey use it in close quarter combat killing other bacteria to clear out a niche for themselves within the oyster to take over, rapidly,\u201d Schuttert explains.<\/p>\n Considering Rhode Island\u2019s booming oyster industry, Schuttert\u2019swork has great implications for the state. Vibrio coralliilyticus<\/em> causes complete loss of larval oysters, wiping out populations before they can mature to their edible size. \u201cThat\u2019s responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in economic losses every year,\u201d says Schuttert. Oysters also play an important ecological role as filter feeders that clean the water. Schuttert hopes his research on the pathogen helpsidentify solutions that could save oyster populations and preserve an important part of the local economy.<\/p>\n Schuttert\u2019s research has also contributedin the discovery of a probiotic bacterium (Phaeobacter inhibens<\/em>) that is helping oyster populations resist the pathogen. The probiotic was discovered growing on the shell of a healthy oyster.Whenthe probiotic was added to oyster farming sites in advance, oysters were shown to have significantly improved survival rates.The research offers an alternative to antibiotics and the problems associated with their use.\u201cWe\u2019re not adding anything new or different into these aquaculture settings but we\u2019re able to keep down the pathogenicbacteria,\u201d Schuttert says.<\/p>\n Schuttert, who was recently awarded acell and molecular biology departmental scholarship for his research, is grateful for the supportive role the CELS community has played as he pursues his passion for microbes. \u201cI was absolutely floored and humbled,\u201d he says, recalling the moment he received the award.\u201cThere\u2019s a whole slew of brilliant minds that I can rely on here.\u201dSchuttert is part of a multidisciplinary collaborative effort at URI. His probiotics group includes members of his lab, supervised by Dr. David Nelson, Dr. David Rowley in the College of Pharmacy, and Dr. Marta Gomez-Chiarri in the Department of Fisheries, Animal, and Veterinary Sciences. \u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as a dumb question, everyone has a different perspective and opinion and they can always add something new that you hadn\u2019t thought of before,” he says.<\/p>\n Looking towards the future, Schuttert sees many more years of research ahead. Though he has much more to uncover in his research on the oyster microenvironment, he also envisions pursuing new areas of research in the future, such as human health. As he embarks on new discoveries, one thing remains certain: Schuttert\u2019s passion for microbiology. \u201cIt\u2019s that whole undiscovered, hidden world that sort of has this veil over it,\u201d he says.\u201cAnd what gets me really excited is that I can take what I\u2019ve learned and share that love and enthusiasm with others.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For as long as he can remember, Chris Schuttert has had an affinity for the mysteries of the microbial world. \u201cI suppose what really started it was being a kid and being told that there\u2019s this undiscovered world that we can\u2019t see with our eyes,\u201d says Schuttert… Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[31,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-profiles","category-research-profiles"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13398"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17446,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13398\/revisions\/17446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}