USC.edu

Julia Schwartzman

Gabilan Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Julia Schwartzman
Pronouns She / Her / Hers Email julias21@usc.edu Office AHF 334

Biography

Julia Schwartzman is an Assistant Professor in the Marine and Environmental Biology Section of BISC. Julia received her PhD in Microbiology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison studying how marine bacteria persist as animal symbionts. She subsequently trained as a Ruth Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard Medical School where she investigated the evolutionary diversification of animal-associated bacteria, and as a Postdoctoral Associate at MIT where her work focused on the ecological consequences of collective behaviors in marine bacteria that decompose organic matter. At USC, Julia’s lab studies the how cellular-scale behaviors shape the ecological dynamics of marine environments.

Education

  • Ph.D. Microbiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2015
  • B.A. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Middlebury College, 2009
    • Postdoctoral Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017 – 2022
    • Postdoctoral Fellow, , Harvard Medical School, 2015 – 2017

  • Tenure Track Appointments

    • Gabilan Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, 01/2023 –

  • Summary Statement of Research Interests

    Microbial processes emerge from a feedback between cells, neighboring cells, and the environment. These micro-scale feedbacks lead to functions that are greater than the sum of individual cellular parts. Clonal populations of bacteria divide labor to distribute metabolic functions, survive stress, and reproduce. Cells in multi-species microbial communities form trophic webs and even build macroscopic structures such as stromatolites and mats. The environment as engineered by microbes scaffolds the development and functioning of multicellular life.
    What are the ‘rules’ through which we can understand and predict collective microbial processes from cellular interactions? We take an interdisciplinary approach to build and study model systems that can address this question in a laboratory setting.
    Current work in the lab focuses on collective behaviors involved in the decomposition of organic matter and the development of kelp.

    Research Keywords

    Marine microbiology, Phenotypic variation, Microbial physiology, Microbial ecology, Micro-scale interactions, Population biology, Host-microbe interactions, Collective behavior, Symbiosis

    • (Spring 2023) BISC 313. Evolution and Population Genetics, MWF, 11:00am – 11:50am, ZHS163
    • (Spring 2023) BISC 599. Special Topics – Advanced Seminar in Symbiosis, W, 12:00pm – 01:50pm, AHF259
    • (Fall 2023) BISC 529. Seminar in Marine Biology, T, 12:00pm – 12:50pm, OFFICE
    • (Fall 2023) BISC 580. Readings in Marine and Environmental Biology, T, 10:00am – 11:50am
    • (Spring 2024) BISC 300. Introduction to Microbiology, TTh, 12:30pm – 01:50pm, ZHS163

  • Essay

    • Segrè, D., Mitri, S., Shou, W., Süel, G. M., Mizrahi, I., Kelly, L., Rebolleda-Gómez, M., Ratzke, C., Ogbunugafor, C. B., Schwartzman, J. A., Kryazhimskiy, S., Leventhal, G. E., Kost, C., Bell, T. (2023). What do you most want to understand about how collective features emerge in microbial communities?. pp. 91-97. Cell systems. PubMed Web Address
    • Schwartzman, J. A. (2021). What can we learn from honey bees?. eLife. PubMed Web Address

    Journal Article

    • Schwartzman, J. A., Lebreton, F., Salamzade, R., Shea, T., Martin, M. J., Schaufler, K., Urhan, A., Abeel, T., Camargo, I. L., Sgardioli, B. F., Prichula, J., Guedes, A. P., Giribet, G., Van, D., Treinish, G., Innis, C. J., Wagenaar, J. A., Whipple, R. M., Manson, A. L., Earl, A. M., Gilmore,Schwartzman, M. S., Lebreton, F., Salamzade, R., Shea, T., Martin, M. J., Schaufler, K., Urhan, A., Abeel, T., Camargo, I. L., Sgardioli, B. F., Prichula, J., Guedes, A. P., Giribet, G., Van, D., Treinish, G., Innis, C. J., Wagenaar, J. A., Whipple, R. M., Manson, A. L., Earl, A. M., Gilmore, M. S. (2024). Global diversity of enterococci and description of 18 previously unknown species. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Vol. 121 (10), pp. e2310852121. PubMed Web Address
    • D’Souza, G., Schwartzman, J., Keegstra, J., Schreier, J. E., Daniels, M., Cordero, O. X., Stocker, R., Ackermann,D’Souza, M. ,., Schwartzman, J., Keegstra, J., Schreier, J. E., Daniels, M., Cordero, O. X., Stocker, R., Ackermann, M. (2023). Interspecies interactions determine growth dynamics of biopolymer-degrading populations in microbial communities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Vol. 120 (44), pp. e2305198120. PubMed Web Address
    • Amarnath, K., Narla, A. V., Pontrelli, S., Dong, J., Reddan, J., Taylor, B. R., Caglar, T., Schwartzman, J., Sauer, U., Cordero, O. X., Hwa, T. (2023). Stress-induced metabolic exchanges between complementary bacterial types underly a dynamic mechanism of inter-species stress resistance. Nature communications. Vol. 14 (1), pp. 3165. PubMed Web Address
    • Capovilla, G., Braakman, R., Fournier, G. P., Hackl, T., Schwartzman, J., Lu, X., Yelton, A., Longnecker, K., Soule, M. C., Thomas, E., Swarr, G., Mongera, A., Payette, J. G., Castro, K. G., Waldbauer, J. R., Kujawinski, E. B., Cordero, O. X., Chisholm, S. W. (2023). Chitin utilization by marine picocyanobacteria and the evolution of a planktonic lifestyle. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Vol. 120 (20), pp. e2213271120. PubMed Web Address
    • Szabo, R. E., Pontrelli, S., Grilli, J., Schwartzman, J. A., Pollak, S., Sauer, U., Cordero, O. X. (2022). Historical contingencies and phage induction diversify bacterioplankton communities at the microscale. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Vol. 119 (30), pp. e2117748119. PubMed Web Address
    • Schwartzman, J. A., Ebrahimi, A., Chadwick, G., Sato, Y., Roller, B. R., Orphan, V. J., Cordero, O. X. (2022). Bacterial growth in multicellular aggregates leads to the emergence of complex life cycles. Current biology : CB. Vol. 32 (14), pp. 3059-3069.e7. PubMed Web Address
    • Nguyen, T. T., Zakem, E. J., Ebrahimi, A., Schwartzman, J., Caglar, T., Amarnath, K., Alcolombri, U., Peaudecerf, F. J., Hwa, T., Stocker, R., Cordero, O. X., Levine, N. M. (2022). Microbes contribute to setting the ocean carbon flux by altering the fate of sinking particulates. Nature communications. Vol. 13 (1), pp. 1657. PubMed Web Address
    • Pontrelli, S., Szabo, R., Pollak, S., Schwartzman, J., Ledezma-Tejeida, D., Cordero, O. X., Sauer, U. (2022). Metabolic cross-feeding structures the assembly of polysaccharide degrading communities. Science advances. Vol. 8 (8), pp. eabk3076. PubMed Web Address
    • Pascual-García, A., Schwartzman, J., Enke, T. N., Iffland-Stettner, A., Cordero, O. X., Bonhoeffer, S. (2022). Turnover in Life-Strategies Recapitulates Marine Microbial Succession Colonizing Model Particles. Frontiers in microbiology. Vol. 13, pp. 812116. PubMed Web Address
    • Ruxin, T. R., Schwartzman, J. A., Davidowitz, C. R., Peters, Z., Holtz, A., Haney, R. A., Spatafora, G. A. (2021). Regulatory involvement of the PerR and SloR metalloregulators in the Streptococcus mutans oxidative stress response. Journal of bacteriology. Vol. 203 (11) PubMed Web Address
    • Prichula, J., Van, D., Schwartzman, J., Sant’Anna, F. H., Pereira, R. I., da, G. R., Tavares, M., Lebreton, F., Frazzon, J., d’Azevedo, P. A., Seixas, A., Frazzon, A. P., Gilmore, M. S. (2020). Enterococci from Wild Magellanic Penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) as an Indicator of Marine Ecosystem Health and Human Impact. Applied and environmental microbiology. Vol. 86 (19) PubMed Web Address
    • Ebrahimi, A., Schwartzman, J., Cordero, O. X. (2019). Cooperation and spatial self-organization determine rate and efficiency of particulate organic matter degradation in marine bacteria. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Vol. 116 (46), pp. 23309-23316. PubMed Web Address
    • Ebrahimi, A., Schwartzman, J., Cordero, O. X. (2019). Multicellular behaviour enables cooperation in microbial cell aggregates. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences. Vol. 374 (1786), pp. 20190077. PubMed Web Address
    • Schwartzman, J. A., Lynch, J. B., Flores, S., Zhou, L., Apicella, M. A., Yew, J. Y., Ruby, E. G. (2019). Acidic pH promotes lipopolysaccharide modification and alters colonization in a bacteria-animal mutualism. Molecular microbiology. Vol. 112 (4), pp. 1326-1338. PubMed Web Address
    • Lynch, J. B., Schwartzman, J. A., Bennett, B. D., McAnulty, S. J., Knop, M., Nyholm, S. V., Ruby, E. G. (2019). Ambient pH Alters the Protein Content of Outer Membrane Vesicles, Driving Host Development in a Beneficial Symbiosis. Journal of bacteriology. Vol. 201 (20) PubMed Web Address
    • Enke, T. N., Datta, M. S., Schwartzman, J., Cermak, N., Schmitz, D., Barrere, J., Pascual-García, A., Cordero, O. X. (2019). Modular Assembly of Polysaccharide-Degrading Marine Microbial Communities. Current biology : CB. Vol. 29 (9), pp. 1528-1535.e6. PubMed Web Address
    • Zhang, S., Lebreton, F., Mansfield, M. J., Miyashita, S. I., Zhang, J., Schwartzman, J. A., Tao, L., Masuyer, G., Martínez-Carranza, M., Stenmark, P., Gilmore, M. S., Doxey, A. C., Dong, M. (2018). Identification of a Botulinum Neurotoxin-like Toxin in a Commensal Strain of Enterococcus faecium. Cell host & microbe. Vol. 23 (2), pp. 169-176.e6. PubMed Web Address
    • Saavedra, J. T., Schwartzman, J. A., Gilmore, M. S. (2017). Mapping Transposon Insertions in Bacterial Genomes by Arbitrarily Primed PCR. Current protocols in molecular biology. Vol. 118, pp. 15.15.1-15.15.15. PubMed Web Address
    • Aschtgen, M. S., Lynch, J. B., Koch, E., Schwartzman, J., McFall-Ngai, M., Ruby, E. (2016). Rotation of Vibrio fischeri Flagella Produces Outer Membrane Vesicles That Induce Host Development. Journal of bacteriology. Vol. 198 (16), pp. 2156-65. PubMed Web Address
    • Schwartzman, J. A., Ruby, E. G. (2016). Stress as a Normal Cue in the Symbiotic Environment. Trends in microbiology. Vol. 24 (5), pp. 414-424. PubMed Web Address
    • Schwartzman, J. A., Ruby, E. G. (2016). A conserved chemical dialog of mutualism: lessons from squid and vibrio. Microbes and infection. Vol. 18 (1), pp. 1-10. PubMed Web Address
    • Pan, M., Schwartzman, J. A., Dunn, A. K., Lu, Z., Ruby, E. G. (2015). A Single Host-Derived Glycan Impacts Key Regulatory Nodes of Symbiont Metabolism in a Coevolved Mutualism. mBio. Vol. 6 (4), pp. e00811. PubMed Web Address
    • Schwartzman, J. A., Koch, E., Heath-Heckman, E. A., Zhou, L., Kremer, N., McFall-Ngai, M. J., Ruby, E. G. (2015). The chemistry of negotiation: rhythmic, glycan-driven acidification in a symbiotic conversation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Vol. 112 (2), pp. 566-71. PubMed Web Address
    • Studer, S. V., Schwartzman, J. A., Ho, J. S., Geske, G. D., Blackwell, H. E., Ruby, E. G. (2014). Non-native acylated homoserine lactones reveal that LuxIR quorum sensing promotes symbiont stability. Environmental microbiology. Vol. 16 (8), pp. 2623-2634. PubMed Web Address
    • Kremer, N., Schwartzman, J., Augustin, R., Zhou, L., Ruby, E. G., Hourdez, S., McFall-Ngai, M. J. (2014). The dual nature of haemocyanin in the establishment and persistence of the squid-vibrio symbiosis. Proceedings. Biological sciences. Vol. 281 (1785), pp. 20140504. PubMed Web Address
    • Kremer, N., Philipp, E. E., Carpentier, M. C., Brennan, C. A., Kraemer, L., Altura, M. A., Augustin, R., Häsler, R., Heath-Heckman, E. A., Peyer, S. M., Schwartzman, J., Rader, B. A., Ruby, E. G., Rosenstiel, P., McFall-Ngai, M. J. (2013). Initial symbiont contact orchestrates host-organ-wide transcriptional changes that prime tissue colonization. Cell host & microbe. Vol. 14 (2), pp. 183-94. PubMed Web Address
    • Miyashiro, T., Klein, W., Oehlert, D., Cao, X., Schwartzman, J., Ruby, E. G. (2011). The N-acetyl-D-glucosamine repressor NagC of Vibrio fischeri facilitates colonization of Euprymna scolopes. Molecular microbiology. Vol. 82 (4), pp. 894-903. PubMed Web Address
    • Monds, R. D., Newell, P. D., Wagner, J. C., Schwartzman, J. A., Lu, W., Rabinowitz, J. D., O’Toole, G. A. (2010). Di-adenosine tetraphosphate (Ap4A) metabolism impacts biofilm formation by Pseudomonas fluorescens via modulation of c-di-GMP-dependent pathways. Journal of bacteriology. Vol. 192 (12), pp. 3011-23. PubMed Web Address
    • Monds, R. D., Newell, P. D., Schwartzman, J. A., O’Toole, G. A. (2006). Conservation of the Pho regulon in Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf0-1. Applied and environmental microbiology. Vol. 72 (3), pp. 1910-24. PubMed Web Address
USC Dornsife faculty and staff may update profiles via MyDornsife.