Centre for Integrative Ecology
Deakin University, Burwood campus
221 Burwood Hwy, VIC 3125
Valentina is a marine microbial ecologist. Her research focuses on understanding the relationships between macroorganisms and the microbial communities associated with them (their microbiome).
Valentina has been studying the seagrass microbiome for over five years, while combining extensive field work and lab work experience with the application of bioinformatic and statistical approaches for the processing and analysis of sequencing and habitat-feature data. Her research interests are in the microbiomes of natural ecosystems, particularly those influencing our ocean’s health. She is intrigued by microbial communities’ dynamics at different spatial and temporal scales, and very passionate about their relationship with pathogenic diseases.
Valentina’s research at Deakin’s Blue Carbon Lab explores microbial dynamics in vegetated coastal ecosystems (mangroves, seagrass meadows, and tidal marshes). By characterising the microbial communities associated with recalcitrant forms of blue carbon, Valentina will lead the first high-throughput sequencing data mining of microbial diversity and functional potential to find ecological drivers and microbial indicators within these communities. Moreover, she will investigate the concept of microbial dormancy within the context of blue carbon ecosystems.
Blue carbon microbiome, holobiont, seagrass, community dynamics, dormancy.
Career Highlights
Hurtado-McCormick, V, Krix, D, Tschitschko, B, Siboni, N, Ralph, PJ & Seymour, JR. 2021. Shifts in the seagrass leaf microbiome associated with seagrass wasting disease in Zostera muelleri. Mar Freshwater Res
Hurtado-McCormick, V, Kahlke, T, Krix, D, Larkum, A, Ralph, PJ & Seymour, JR. 2020. Seagrass leaf reddening alters the microbiome of Zostera muelleri. Mar Ecol Prog Ser, 646, 29-44
Trevathan-Tackett, SM, Sherman, CDH, Huggett, MJ, Campbell, AH, Laverock, B, Hurtado-McCormick, V, Seymour, JR, Firl, A, Messer, LF, Ainsworth, TD, Negandhi, KL, Daffonchio, D, Egan, S, Engelen, AH, Fusi, M, Thomas, T, Vann, L, Hernandez-Agreda, A, Gan, HM, Marzinelli, EM, Steinberg, PD, Hardtke, L, Macreadie, PI. 2019. A horizon scan of priorities for coastal marine microbiome research. Nat Ecol Evol, 3 (11), 1509-1520
Hurtado-McCormick, V, Kahlke, T, Petrou, K, Jeffries, T, Ralph, PJ & Seymour, JR. 2019. Regional and microenvironmental scale characterization of the Zostera muelleri seagrass microbiome. Front Microbiol, 10, 1011
Eelgrass keeps the oceans alive and preserves shipwrecks, so just cope when it tickles your feet, The Conversation (2019)
Horizon-scanning prioritises coastal microbiome research, C3 News (2019)
Defining the microbiome of a key marine ecosystem engineer, the seagrass Zostera muelleri, Phyto Bytes (2017)