Eric D. Becraft

Assistant Professor

Eric D. Becraft

Bio

After receiving my degree from the University of Texas, I have studied microbiology for the subsequent fifteen years, focusing on research of microbial ecosystems around the world from Yellowstone National Park to the gold mines of South Africa. Over the past year I have changed to a primarily teaching role at the University of North Alabama and have discovered that I am as passionate about educating young minds as I am about discovering the unknown microbial world. I am also a veteran of the United State Marine Corps and a first generation PhD. These experiences, along with my diverse research history, give me a unique platform to educate as I strive to become a better professor and scientist everyday.

Research Interests

  • Microbial Ecology and Evolution, Bioinformatics

Courses Taught

Education

  •   Ecology and Environment Sciences (PhD)
    Montana State University
  •   Biology: Microbiology (BS)
    The University of Texas at Austin

Selected Intellectual Contributions

  • Eric D. Becraft. 2021. Evolutionary stasis of a deep subsurface microbial lineage. Nature; International Society of Microbial Ecology
  • Eric D. Becraft. 2021. Synthase-Selective Exploration of a Tunicate Microbiome by Activity-Guided Single-Cell Genomics. ACS Chemical Biology
  • Stephen Nayfach and Eric D. Becraft. 2020. A genomic catalog of Earth’s microbiomes. Nature communications
  • Jacob Beam and Eric D. Becraft. 2020. Ancestral Absence of Electron Transport Chains in Patescibacteria and DPANN. Frontiers in Microbiology
  • Eric D. Becraft. 2020. Biogeography of American Northwest Hot Spring A/B′-Lineage Synechococcus Populations. Frontiers of Microbiology
  • Michael Chen and Eric D. Becraft. 2020. Hiding in Plain Sight: The Globally Distributed Bacterial Candidate Phylum PAUC34f. Frontiers of Microbiology
  • Maria Dzunkova and Eric D. Becraft. 2020. Insights into the dynamics between viruses and their hosts in a hot spring microbial mat. International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME)
  • Eric D. Becraft. 2020. Relationship between Microorganisms Inhabiting Alkaline Siliceous Hot Spring Mat Communities and Overflowing Water.
  • J D. Sackett, B R. Kruger, Eric D. Becraft, J K. Jarett, R Stepanauskas, T Woyke, and D P. Moser. 2019. Four Draft Single-Cell Genome Sequences of Novel, Nearly Identical Kiritimatiellaeota Strains Isolated from the Continental Deep Subsurface. Microbiology resource announcements
  • Noha H. Youssef, Ibrahim F. Farag, C. Ryan Hahn, Jessica Jarett, Eric D. Becraft, Emiley Eloe-Fadrosh, Jorge Lightfoot, Austin Bourgeois, Tanner Cole, Stephanie Ferrante, Mandy Truelock, William Marsh, Michael Jamaleddine, Samantha Ricketts, Ronald Simpson, Allyson McFadden, Wouter Hoff, Nikolai V. Ravin, Stefan Sievert, Ramunas Stepanauskas, Tanja Woyke, Mostafa Elshahed, and M. Julia Pettinari. 2019. Genomic Characterization of Candidate Division LCP-89 Reveals an Atypical Cell Wall Structure, Microcompartment Production, and Dual Respiratory and Fermentative Capacities. Applied and Environmental Microbiology
  • P B. Matheus Carnevali, F Schulz, C J. Castelle, R S. Kantor, P M. Shih, I Sharon, J M. Santini, M R. Olm, Y Amano, B C. Thomas, K Anantharaman, D Burstein, Eric D. Becraft, R Stepanauskas, T Woyke, and J F. Banfield. 2019. Hydrogen-based metabolism as an ancestral trait in lineages sibling to the Cyanobacteria.. Nature communications