Dr. Valerie R. Flechtner

Office: W248 Dolan

Phone: 216-397-4399

Email: vflechtner@jcu.edu

Academic Background:

BS  in Bacteriology University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH  1965

MS in Medical Microbiology  University of Wisconsin, Madison WI  1967

Ph. D. Department of Bacteriology University of Wisconsin, Madison WI  1970

Teaching Assignment:

Botany
FYS
Honors Seminar
BL 471, BL 571 - Immunology*
BL 410 - Infection and Immunity*
BL 213 - Introduction of Biotechniques
Bl 310, BL 310L - Microbiology*
Molecular Genetics
Molecular Genetics Laboratory
Pathogenic Microbiology
BL 155 - Principles of Biology I*
Pathogenic Microbiology
Virology

Recent Publications:

Journal Articles

Flechtner, V.F., Ng, R.A., Johansen, J.R. and Antonio, S.  2005  algal diversity in North American desert soils.  In:  R.B. Hoover, G.V. Levin, A.Y. Rozanov and G.R. Gladstone (eds.) Astrobiology and Planetary Mission Proc. of SPIE 5906 Mellingham, WA pp 590602-9.

Lewis, Louise A. and Flechtner, Valerie R.  2004.  Cryptic species of Scenedesmus (Chlorophyta) from desert soil communities of western North America.  J. Phycol. 40:  1127-1137.

Flechtner, Valerie R., Sarah L. Boyer, Jeffrey R. Johansen and Marisa L. DeNoble. 2002 Spirirestis rafaelensis gen. et sp. Nov. (Cyanophyceae), a new cyanobacterial genus from arid soils.  Nova Hedweg. 74:1-24.

Hawkes, Christine and Valerie Flechtner. 2002.  Biological soil crusts in a xeric Florida shrubland: Composition, abundance, and spatial heterogeneity of crusts with different disturbance histories.  Microb. Ecol. 43:1-12.

Lewis, Louise A. and Valerie R. Flechtner.  2002. Green algae (Chlorophyta) of desert microbiotic crusts: diversity of North American taxa.  Taxon 51:443-51.

Boyer, S., V. Flechtner, J. Johansen. 2001. Is the 12S-23S Internal Transcribed Spacer Region a Good Tool for Use in Molecular Systematics and Population Genetics?  A Case Study in cyanobacteria.  Mol. Biol. and Evol. 18:1057-1069.

Flechtner, Valerie R., Jeffrey R. Johansen and William H. Clark.  1998 Algal composition of microbiotic crusts from the central desert of Baja California, Mexico.  Great Basin Natur. 58: 295-311.

Book Chapters

Flechtner, Valerie R.  1999.  Enigmatic Desert Soil Algae.  In Enigmatic Microorganisms and Life in Extreme Environments.  (J. Sechbach, Editor, Kluwer Academic Publishers.)

Flechtner, Valerie R.  2007.  North American Desert Microbiotic Soil Crust Communities:  Diversity Despite Challenge.  In Enigmatic Microorganisms and Life in Extreme Environments.  (J. Sechbach, Editor, Kluwer Academic Publishers.)  pp 539-51.

Research Interests:

Cyanobacterial and eukaryotic non-diatom algal flora of arid and semi-arid soils.
Describing new non-diatom eukaryotic taxa using microscopic and molecular data.

Important Links:

Microbiotic Crust Project

Photo Gallery