Dana E. Hunt | Scholars@Duke

Dana E. Hunt
Associate Professor of Microbial Ecology

My research focus is on understanding the ecology of microbes through examination of their genes and lifestyles. Bacteria are the most diverse organisms on earth and play a pivotal role in planetary cycling of nutrients and energy. Yet, we have a poor understanding of the factors that drive their diversity and dynamics in the environment. The lab's emphasis is on studying bacterial interactions with the environment at the appropriate temporal and spatial scale including the effect of temperature changes on bacterial populations and bacterial interactions with other organisms. Another area of active research is the response and adaptation of bacteria to emerging pollutants such as antibiotics and nanoparticles.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Associate Professor of Microbial Ecology, Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment 2019
Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering 2015

Contact Information

135 Duke Marine Lab Rd, Beaufort, NC 28516
dana.hunt@duke.edu (252) 504-7542
Lab Webpage

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2008
Previous Appointments & Affiliations
- Assistant Professor of Microbial Ecology, Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment 2010 - 2019
- Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology, Biology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2014 - 2018
Recognition
In the News
- DEC 30, 2013
  
  Local Factors Cause Dramatic Spikes In Coastal Ocean Acidity
Expertise
Subject Headings
Global Scholarship
- Research
  - United States of America (Country)
Research
Selected Grants
- Collaborative Research: BoCP-Design: A multidomain microbial consortium to interrogate organic matter decomposition in a changing ocean. awarded by National Science Foundation 2022 - 2025
- Duke University Program in Environmental Health awarded by National Institutes of Health 2019 - 2024
- REU Site: Undergraduate Research in Estuarine and Coastal Marine Systems awarded by National Science Foundation 2021 - 2024
- NSF2026: EAGER Identifying microbes' population-level environmental responses using Bayesian modeling awarded by National Science Foundation 2020 - 2023
- CoPe: RCN: Building a Collaboratory for Coastal Adaptation over Space and Time (C-CoAST) awarded by University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill 2020 - 2023
- Collaborative Research: Ocean Acidification: microbes as sentinels of adaptive responses to multiple stressors awarded by National Science Foundation 2015 - 2019
- Ecology at the microbial scale: the importance of microscale interactions between heterotrophic bacteria and phytoplankton in marine environments awarded by Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation 2013 - 2019
- Multi-functional Plasmonics Nanoprobes for Cellular Sensing and Imaging awarded by Department of Energy 2015 - 2019
- OCE-RIG: Biological activity on particulate organic material in the coastal ocean awarded by National Science Foundation 2013 - 2016
- MRI-R-2: Acquisition of High-Speed Sorting Flow Cytometer for Multi-User Environmental Microbiology Research awarded by National Science Foundation 2010 - 2012
External Relationships
- China National Science Foundation
- Good Night MidStream
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Academic Articles
  - Gronniger, Jessica L., Zhao Wang, Genevieve R. Brandt, Christopher S. Ward, Despina Tsementzi, Han Mu, Junyao Gu, Zackary I. Johnson, Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis, and Dana E. Hunt. “Rapid changes in coastal ocean microbiomes uncoupled with shifts in environmental variables.” Environmental Microbiology 24, no. 9 (September 2022): 4167–77. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.16086.
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  - Fremin, Brayon J., Ami S. Bhatt, Nikos C. Kyrpides, and Nikos C. Global Phage Small Open Reading Frame (GP-SmORF) Consortium. “Thousands of small, novel genes predicted in global phage genomes.” Cell Reports 39, no. 12 (June 2022): 110984. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110984.
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  - Xie, Ningdong, Mohan Bai, Lu Liu, Jiaqian Li, Yaodong He, Jackie L. Collier, Dana E. Hunt, Zackary I. Johnson, Nianzhi Jiao, and Guangyi Wang. “Patchy Blooms and Multifarious Ecotypes of Labyrinthulomycetes Protists and Their Implication in Vertical Carbon Export in the Pelagic Eastern Indian Ocean.” Microbiology Spectrum 10, no. 3 (June 2022): e0014422. https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.00144-22.
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  - Bai, Mohan, Ningdong Xie, Yaodong He, Jiaqian Li, Jackie L. Collier, Dana E. Hunt, Zackary I. Johnson, Nianzhi Jiao, and Guangyi Wang. “Vertical community patterns of Labyrinthulomycetes protists reveal their potential importance in the oceanic biological pump.” Environmental Microbiology 24, no. 4 (April 2022): 1703–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.15709.
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  - Xie, Ningdong, Zhao Wang, Dana E. Hunt, Zackary I. Johnson, Yaodong He, and Guangyi Wang. “Niche Partitioning of Labyrinthulomycete Protists Across Sharp Coastal Gradients and Their Putative Relationships With Bacteria and Fungi.” Frontiers in Microbiology 13 (January 2022): 906864. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.906864.
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  - Duan, Yingbo, Ningdong Xie, Zhao Wang, Zackary I. Johnson, Dana E. Hunt, and Guangyi Wang. “Patchy Distributions and Distinct Niche Partitioning of Mycoplankton Populations across a Nearshore to Open Ocean Gradient.” Microbiology Spectrum 9, no. 3 (December 2021): e0147021. https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01470-21.
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  - Ahern, Olivia M., Kerry A. Whittaker, Tiffany C. Williams, Dana E. Hunt, and Tatiana A. Rynearson. “Host genotype structures the microbiome of a globally dispersed marine phytoplankton.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 118, no. 48 (November 2021): e2105207118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2105207118.
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  - Nayfach, Stephen, Simon Roux, Rekha Seshadri, Daniel Udwary, Neha Varghese, Frederik Schulz, Dongying Wu, et al. “A genomic catalog of Earth's microbiomes.” Nature Biotechnology 39, no. 4 (April 2021): 499–509. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-020-0718-6.
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  - Nayfach, Stephen, Simon Roux, Rekha Seshadri, Daniel Udwary, Neha Varghese, Frederik Schulz, Dongying Wu, et al. “Author Correction: A genomic catalog of Earth's microbiomes.” Nature Biotechnology 39, no. 4 (April 2021): 521. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-021-00898-4.
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  - Wang, Zhao, Despina Tsementzi, Tiffany C. Williams, Doris L. Juarez, Sara K. Blinebry, Nathan S. Garcia, Brooke K. Sienkiewicz, Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis, Zackary I. Johnson, and Dana E. Hunt. “Environmental stability impacts the differential sensitivity of marine microbiomes to increases in temperature and acidity.” The Isme Journal 15, no. 1 (January 2021): 19–28. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-020-00748-2.
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  - Xie, Ningdong, Dana E. Hunt, Zackary I. Johnson, Yaodong He, and Guangyi Wang. “Annual Partitioning Patterns of Labyrinthulomycetes Protists Reveal Their Multifaceted Role in Marine Microbial Food Webs.” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 87, no. 2 (January 2021): e01652–e01620. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01652-20.
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  - Loftus, S. E., D. E. Hunt, and Z. I. Johnson. “Reused cultivation water from a self-inhibiting alga does not inhibit other algae but alters their microbiomes.” Algal Research 51 (October 1, 2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2020.102067.
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  - Wang, Zhao, Doris L. Juarez, Jin-Fen Pan, Sara K. Blinebry, Jessica Gronniger, James S. Clark, Zackary I. Johnson, and Dana E. Hunt. “Microbial communities across nearshore to offshore coastal transects are primarily shaped by distance and temperature.” Environmental Microbiology 21, no. 10 (October 2019): 3862–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.14734.
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  - Ward, Christopher S., Jin-Fen Pan, Benjamin P. Colman, Zhao Wang, Carley A. Gwin, Tiffany C. Williams, Abby Ardis, Claudia K. Gunsch, and Dana E. Hunt. “Conserved Microbial Toxicity Responses for Acute and Chronic Silver Nanoparticle Treatments in Wetland Mesocosms.” Environmental Science & Technology 53, no. 6 (March 2019): 3268–76. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b06654.
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  - Duan, Yingbo, Ningdong Xie, Zhiquan Song, Christopher S. Ward, Cheuk-Man Yung, Dana E. Hunt, Zackary I. Johnson, and Guangyi Wang. “A High-Resolution Time Series Reveals Distinct Seasonal Patterns of Planktonic Fungi at a Temperate Coastal Ocean Site (Beaufort, North Carolina, USA).” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 84, no. 21 (November 2018): e00967–e00918. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.00967-18.
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  - Zhang, Tingwan, Jin-Fen Pan, Dana E. Hunt, Min Chen, and Bo Wang. “Organic matter modifies biochemical but not most behavioral responses of the clam Ruditapes philippinarum to nanosilver exposure.” Marine Environmental Research 133 (February 2018): 105–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2017.10.016.
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  - Ward, Christopher S., Cheuk-Man Yung, Katherine M. Davis, Sara K. Blinebry, Tiffany C. Williams, Zackary I. Johnson, and Dana E. Hunt. “Annual community patterns are driven by seasonal switching between closely related marine bacteria.” The Isme Journal 11, no. 6 (June 2017): 1412–22. https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2017.4.
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  - Garcia, Nathan S., Cheuk-Man Yung, Katherine M. Davis, Tatiana Rynearson, and Dana E. Hunt. “Draft Genome Sequences of Three Bacterial Isolates from Cultures of the Marine Diatom Thalassiosira rotula.” Genome Announcements 5, no. 18 (May 2017): e00316–17. https://doi.org/10.1128/genomea.00316-17.
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  - McMurray, S. E., Z. I. Johnson, D. E. Hunt, J. R. Pawlik, and C. M. Finelli. “Selective feeding by the giant barrel sponge enhances foraging efficiency.” Limnology and Oceanography 61, no. 4 (July 1, 2016): 1271–86. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10287.
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  - Yung, Cheuk-Man, Christopher S. Ward, Katherine M. Davis, Zackary I. Johnson, and Dana E. Hunt. “Insensitivity of Diverse and Temporally Variable Particle-Associated Microbial Communities to Bulk Seawater Environmental Parameters.” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 82, no. 11 (June 2016): 3431–37. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.00395-16.
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  - Yung, Cheuk-Man, Marissa K. Vereen, Amy Herbert, Katherine M. Davis, Jiayu Yang, Agata Kantorowska, Christopher S. Ward, Jennifer J. Wernegreen, Zackary I. Johnson, and Dana E. Hunt. “Thermally adaptive tradeoffs in closely related marine bacterial strains.” Environ Microbiol 17, no. 7 (July 2015): 2421–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.12714.
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  - Hunt, Dana E., and Christopher S. Ward. “A network-based approach to disturbance transmission through microbial interactions.” Frontiers in Microbiology 6 (January 2015): 1182. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.01182.
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  - Chae, So-Ryong, Dana E. Hunt, Kaoru Ikuma, Sungwoo Yang, Jinhyun Cho, Claudia K. Gunsch, Jie Liu, and Mark R. Wiesner. “Aging of fullerene C₆₀ nanoparticle suspensions in the presence of microbes.” Water Research 65 (November 2014): 282–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2014.07.038.
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  - Kirchberger, Paul C., Maryann Turnsek, Dana E. Hunt, Bradd J. Haley, Rita R. Colwell, Martin F. Polz, Cheryl L. Tarr, and Yan Boucher. “Vibrio metoecus sp. nov., a close relative of Vibrio cholerae isolated from coastal brackish ponds and clinical specimens.” International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 64, no. Pt 9 (September 2014): 3208–14. https://doi.org/10.1099/ijs.0.060145-0.
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  - Colman, Benjamin P., Benjamin Espinasse, Curtis J. Richardson, Cole W. Matson, Gregory V. Lowry, Dana E. Hunt, Mark R. Wiesner, and Emily S. Bernhardt. “Emerging contaminant or an old toxin in disguise? Silver nanoparticle impacts on ecosystems.” Environmental Science & Technology 48, no. 9 (May 2014): 5229–36. https://doi.org/10.1021/es405454v.
    Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Hunt, Dana E., Yajuan Lin, Matthew J. Church, David M. Karl, Susannah G. Tringe, Lisa K. Izzo, and Zackary I. Johnson. “Relationship between abundance and specific activity of bacterioplankton in open ocean surface waters.” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 79, no. 1 (January 2013): 177–84. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.02155-12.
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  - Johnson, Zackary I., Benjamin J. Wheeler, Sara K. Blinebry, Christina M. Carlson, Christopher S. Ward, and Dana E. Hunt. “Dramatic variability of the carbonate system at a temperate coastal ocean site (Beaufort, North Carolina, USA) is regulated by physical and biogeochemical processes on multiple timescales.” Plos One 8, no. 12 (January 2013): e85117. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0085117.
    Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Boucher, Yan, Otto X. Cordero, Alison Takemura, Dana E. Hunt, Klaus Schliep, Eric Bapteste, Philippe Lopez, Cheryl L. Tarr, and Martin F. Polz. “Local mobile gene pools rapidly cross species boundaries to create endemicity within global Vibrio cholerae populations.” Mbio 2, no. 2 (January 2011): e00335–e00310. https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.00335-10.
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  - Hunt, Dana E., Lawrence A. David, Dirk Gevers, Sarah P. Preheim, Eric J. Alm, and Martin F. Polz. “Resource partitioning and sympatric differentiation among closely related bacterioplankton.” Science 320, no. 5879 (May 23, 2008): 1081–85. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1157890.
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  - Stocker, Roman, Justin R. Seymour, Azadeh Samadani, Dana E. Hunt, and Martin F. Polz. “Rapid chemotactic response enables marine bacteria to exploit ephemeral microscale nutrient patches.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 105, no. 11 (March 2008): 4209–14. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0709765105.
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  - Hunt, Dana E., Dirk Gevers, Nisha M. Vahora, and Martin F. Polz. “Conservation of the chitin utilization pathway in the Vibrionaceae.” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 74, no. 1 (January 2008): 44–51. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01412-07.
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  - Polz, Martin F., Dana E. Hunt, Sarah P. Preheim, and Daniel M. Weinreich. “Patterns and mechanisms of genetic and phenotypic differentiation in marine microbes.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 361, no. 1475 (November 2006): 2009–21. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2006.1928.
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  - Hunt, Dana E., Vanja Klepac-Ceraj, Silvia G. Acinas, Clement Gautier, Stefan Bertilsson, and Martin F. Polz. “Evaluation of 23S rRNA PCR primers for use in phylogenetic studies of bacterial diversity.” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 72, no. 3 (March 2006): 2221–25. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.72.3.2221-2225.2006.
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  - Thompson, Janelle R., Sarah Pacocha, Chanathip Pharino, Vanja Klepac-Ceraj, Dana E. Hunt, Jennifer Benoit, Ramahi Sarma-Rupavtarm, Daniel L. Distel, and Martin F. Polz. “Genotypic diversity within a natural coastal bacterioplankton population.” Science (New York, N.Y.) 307, no. 5713 (February 2005): 1311–13. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1106028.
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  - Acinas, Silvia G., Vanja Klepac-Ceraj, Dana E. Hunt, Chanathip Pharino, Ivica Ceraj, Daniel L. Distel, and Martin F. Polz. “Fine-scale phylogenetic architecture of a complex bacterial community.” Nature 430, no. 6999 (July 2004): 551–54. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02649.
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  - Polz, Martin F., Stefan Bertilsson, Silvia G. Acinas, and Dana Hunt. “A(r)Ray of hope in analysis of the function and diversity of microbial communities.” The Biological Bulletin 204, no. 2 (April 2003): 196–99. https://doi.org/10.2307/1543558.
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  - Polz, M. F., S. Bertilson, S. G. Acinas, and D. Hunt. “A(r)ray of hope in diversity analysis of microbial function and communities.” Biological Bulletin 204, no. 2 (2003): 196–99.
Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses
Scholarly, Clinical, & Service Activities
Outreach & Engaged Scholarship
- Bass Connections Team Leader. Ecological and Social Time Scales in Hurricane Response and Recovery. 2019 2019

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Previous Appointments & Affiliations

In the News

Subject Headings

Global Scholarship

Research

Selected Grants

External Relationships

Selected Publications

Academic Articles

Recent Courses

Outreach & Engaged Scholarship