Cindy J. Smith

The paper identifies rpoB gene and transcript sequencing as a more accurate method for measuring microbial community activity compared to 16S rRNA sequencing.

The paper develops and tests a qPCR assay targeting lacZ to quantify coliform bacteria in drinking water, achieving detection down to 1.82 x 103 cfu/100mL.

The paper validates and applies intI1 primer sets for quantifying gene abundance in septic tanks, finding no significant difference between primer sets but highlighting the importance of primer choice for accurate environmental monitoring.

This paper compares OTUs and ASVs methods for analyzing functional gene sequences in microbial communities, showing ASVs provide more consistent results for certain genes.

The paper evaluates how reverse transcriptase enzymes and priming strategies affect transcript quantification and diversity in environmental microbiology, finding significant impacts on both.