Jennifer Bennett, Ph.D.
Associate Professor & Department Chair | Otterbein University
Westerville, OH, UNITED STATES
Dr. Bennett is a microbial geneticist who teaches courses in cell biology, microbiology, microbial genetics and bioinformatics.
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Biography
Dr. Bennett is a microbial geneticist who teaches courses in cell biology, microbiology, microbial genetics and bioinformatics. Students in her research program identify new genes involved in bacterial development and antibiotic production using a multi-disciplinary approach which incorporates microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, analytical chemistry and bioinformatics. Dr. Bennett has also served as the chair of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) national science teaching fellows program designed to train doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows for careers as professors at primarily undergraduate institutions. She is the faculty advisor for the Otterbein ASM student chapter, Women in Science and Global Medical Brigades.
She established a new microbial genetics research laboratory at Otterbein, where she works with undergraduate students to study novel developmental genes in a pharmacologically important bacterium. Her research program uses microscopy, genetics, biochemistry, bioinformatics and statistics to study the new genes her students have identified. The regulation of antibiotic production and biofilm formation by bacterial signaling pathways are of special interest. Dr. Bennett teaches Microbiology, Molecular Genetics, Cell Biology and Senior Seminar.
Areas of Expertise (6)
Bacterial Signaling Pathways
Biochemistry
Microscopy
Microbial genetics
Genetics
Bioinformatics
Accomplishments (2)
2013 Nominee for Otterbein University New Teacher of the Year Award
New Teacher of the Year Award
Graduate Teaching Award for the Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences
Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences
Education (3)
Duquesne University: Ph.D.
Duquesne University: M.S.
La Roche College: B.S.
Affiliations (4)
- La Roche College 50th Anniversary Distinguished Alumni Circle
- Chair, American Society from Microbiology National Science Teaching Fellows Training Program
- Member, American Society for Microbiology, National and Ohio Branch
- Member, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Links (1)
Languages (1)
- English
Selected Media Appearances (1)
Otterbein Associate Professor Jennifer Bennett’s published article and video features Otterbein students and recent grads
Otterbein University online
2019-04-05
Otterbein Associate Professor Jennifer Bennett’s written and video article, Visual and Microscopic Evaluation of Streptomyces Developmental Mutants, was recently published in the scientific methods Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE).
Selected Articles (5)
A Virtual Tour of the Cell: Impact of Virtual Reality on Student Learning and Engagement in the STEM Classroom
J. Microbiol. Biol. Educ
Bennett J, Saunders C.
2019 Virtual reality (VR) is an immersive experience designed for users to explore a digital overlay that is completely independent of their true surroundings. The user is provided with a VR headset (often called a Head Mounted Display [HMD]) providing visual and audio stimuli and multiple sensors that track physical movement in relationship to a virtual world. Virtual reality is widely used in the gaming industry and has steadily extended to a variety of fields, especially the healthcare industry. Virtual reality is now used by patients, including autism and Alzheimer’s patients as a form of therapy (1–5). Similarly, VR is also used in the education of healthcare professionals, for example to practice surgeries and dental work (6–9). Virtual reality in healthcare is highly represented in the primary literature. However, there are relatively few publications on VR in the undergraduate STEM classroom (10–13). It is also uncertain how many colleges and universities have begun to use VR in the classroom.
Visual and Microscopic Evaluation of Streptomyces Developmental Mutants
J. Vis. Exp.
Bennett, J. A., Kandell, G. V., Kirk, S. G., McCormick, J. R.
2018 Streptomycetes are filamentous soil bacteria belonging to the phylum Actinobacteria that are found throughout the world and produce a wide array of antibiotics and other secondary metabolites. Streptomyces coelicolor is a well-characterized, non-pathogenic species that is amenable to a variety of analyses in the lab. The phenotyping methods described here use S. coelicolor as a model streptomycete; however, the methods are applicable to all members of this large genus as well as some closely related actinomycetes. Phenotyping is necessary to characterize new species of Streptomyces identified in the environment, and it is also a vital first step in characterizing newly isolated mutant strains of Streptomyces. Proficiency in phenotyping is important for the many new researchers who are entering the field of Streptomyces research, which includes the study of bacterial development, cell division, chromosome segregation, and second messenger signaling. The recent crowdsourcing of antibiotic discovery through the isolation of new soil microbes has resulted in an increased need for training in phenotyping for instructors new to the field of Streptomyces research and their college or high school students. This manuscript describes methods for bacterial strain propagation, storage, and characterization through visual and microscopic examination. After reading this article, new researchers (microbiology education laboratories and citizen scientists) should be able to manipulate Streptomyces strains and begin visual characterization experiments.
Cyclic Di-GMP Phosphodiesterases RmdA and RmdB Are Involved in Regulating Colony Morphology and Development in Streptomyces coelicolor
Journal of Bacteriology
Hull, T.D., Min-Hyung Ryu, M. J. Sullivan, N.T. Klena, R.C. Johnson, R.M. Geiger, M. Gomelsky and J.A. Bennett
2012 Cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP) regulates numerous processes in Gram-negative bacteria, yet little is known about its role in Gram-positive bacteria. Here we characterize two c-di-GMP phosphodiesterases from the filamentous high-GC Gram-positive actinobacterium Streptomyces coelicolor, involved in controlling colony morphology and development. A transposon mutation in one of the two phosphodiesterase genes, SCO0928, hereby designated rmdA (regulator of morphology and development A), resulted in decreased levels of spore-specific gray pigment and a delay in spore formation. The RmdA protein contains GGDEF-EAL domains arranged in tandem and possesses c-di-GMP phosphodiesterase activity, as is evident from in vitro enzymatic assays using the purified protein. RmdA contains a PAS9 domain and is a hemoprotein. Inactivation of another GGDEF-EAL-encoding gene, SCO5495, designated rmdB, resulted in a phenotype identical to that of the rmdA mutant. Purified soluble fragment of RmdB devoid of transmembrane domains also possesses c-di-GMP phosphodiesterase activity. The rmdA rmdB double mutant has a bald phenotype and is impaired in aerial mycelium formation. This suggests that RmdA and RmdB functions are additive and at least partially overlapping. The rmdA and rmdB mutations likely result in increased local pools of intracellular c-di-GMP, because intracellular c-di-GMP levels in the single mutants did not differ significantly from those of the wild type, whereas in the double rmdA rmdB mutant, c-di-GMP levels were 3-fold higher than those in the wild type. This study highlights the importance of c-di-GMP-dependent signaling in actinomycete colony morphology and development and identifies two c-di-GMP phosphodiesterases controlling these processes.
Medium-Dependent Phenotypes of Streptomyces coelicolor with Mutations in ftsI or ftsW
Journal of Bacteriology
Jennifer A. Bennett, Jennifer Yarnall, Adam B. Cadwallader, Rebecca Kuennen, Peter Bidey, Beth Stadelmaier, Joseph R. McCormick
2008 Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) ftsI- and ftsW-null mutants produced aerial hyphae with no evidence of septation when grown on a traditional osmotically enhanced medium. This phenotype was partially suppressed when cultures were grown on media prepared without sucrose. We infer that functional FtsZ rings can form in ftsI- and ftsW-null mutants under certain growth conditions.
Streptomyces coelicolor Genes ftsL and divIC Play a Role in Cell Division but Are Dispensable for Colony Formation
Journal of Bacteriology
Jennifer A. Bennett, Rachel M. Aimino, Joseph R. McCormick
2007 We have characterized homologues of the bacterial cell division genes ftsL and divIC in the gram-positive mycelial bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). We show by deletion-insertion mutations that ftsL and divIC are dispensable for growth and viability in S. coelicolor. When mutant strains were grown on a conventional rich medium (R2YE, containing high sucrose), inactivation of either ftsL or divIC resulted in the formation of aerial hyphae with partially constricted division sites but no clear separation of prespore compartments. Surprisingly, this phenotype was largely suppressed when strains were grown on minimal medium or sucrose-free R2YE, where division sites in many aerial hyphae had finished constricting and chains of spores were evident. Thus, osmolarity appears to affect the severity of the division defect. Furthermore, double mutant strains deleted for both ftsL and divIC are viable and have medium-dependent phenotypes similar to that of the single mutant strains, suggesting that functions performed by FtsL and DivIC are not absolutely required for septation during growth and sporulation. Alternatively, another division protein may partially compensate for the loss of both FtsL and DivIC on minimal medium or sucrose-free R2YE. Finally, based on transmission electron microscopy observations, we propose that FtsL and DivIC are involved in coordinating symmetrical annular ingrowth of the invaginating septum.
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