J. Michael Henson

Research Associate Professor



Contact Information

Phone: 864-656-1649
FAX: 864-656-0435
Email: hhenson@clemson.edu

Education

  • Postdoctoral research, Florida State University, 1984 - 1985
  • Ph.D. Microbiology, University of Florida, 1983
  • M.S. Microbiology, Clemson University, 1978
  • B.S. Biology, University of South Carolina, 1975

Research Interests

  • Major research interests include the anaerobic microbial transformation of biomass, such as switchgrass or other agricultural materials, into ethanol, butanol, hydrogen, or methane.  Undergraduate and graduate students assess the conversion of plant cell wall constituents into fermentable carbohydrates that are subsequently metabolized into biofuels.  In addition, we are interested in evaluating the fate of organic and inorganic constituents in various environments, such as, fermentors, intestinal tracts of mammals, landfills, soil, and freshwater or marine sediments. A recent interest is the interaction of bacteriophage with microbial populations in anaerobic environments.

Selected Publications

  • Henson, J.M., M.V. Yates, and J.W. Cochran. 1989. Metabolism of chlorinated methanes, ethanes and ethylenes by a mixed bacterial culture growing on methane. J. Indust. Microbiol. 4:29-35.
  • Ringelberg, D.B., J.M, J.D. Davis, G.S. Smith, S.M. Pfiffner, P.D. Nichols, J.S. Nickels, J.M. Henson, J.T. Wilson, M. Yates, D.H. Kampbell, H.W. Reed, T.T. Stocksdale, and D.C. White. 1989. Validation of signature polarlipid fatty acid biomarkers for alkane-utilizing bacteria in soils and subsurface aquifer materials. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 62:39-50
  • Henson, J.M., M.J. McInerney, P.S. Beaty, J.S. Nickels, and D.C. White. 1988. Lipid composition of the syntrophic anaerobic bacterium, Syntrophomonas wolfei. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 54:1570-1574.
  • Henson, J.M., M.V. Yates, J.W. Cochran, and D.S. Shackleford. 1988. Microbial removal of halogenated methanes, ethanes, and ethylenes in an aerobic soil exposed to methane. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 53:193-201.
  • Rivard, C.R, F. Bordeaux, J.M. Henson, and P.H. Smith. 1988. Effects of addition of soluble oxidants on the thermophilic anaerobic digestion of biomass to methane. Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. p.245 - 262.
  • Nichols, P.D., J.M. Henson, C.P. Antworth, , J. Parson, D.C. White, and J.T. Wilson, and D.C. White. 1987. Detection of a microbial consortium including type II methanotrophs by use of phospholipid fatty acids in an aerobic halogenated hydrocarbon-degrading soil column enriched with natural gas. Environ. Toxicol. and Chem. 6:89-97.
  • Wilson, J.T, L.E. Leach, J.M. Henson, and J.N. Jones. 1986. In-situ biorestoration as a ground water remediation technique. Ground Water Monitoring Review 6:56-64.
  • Nivens, D.E., P.D. Nichols, J.M. Henson, G.G. Geesey, and D.C. White. 1986. Reversible acceleration of corrosion of 304 stainless steel exposed to sea water induced by growth and secretions of the marine bacterium Vibrio natriegens. Corrosion 42:204-210.
  • Henson, J.M., F.M. Bordeaux, C.J. Rivard, and P.H. Smith. 1986. Quantitative influences of butyrate or propionate on thermophilic production of methane from biomass. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 51:288-292.
  • Henson, J.M., P.H. Smith, and D.C. White. 1985. Examination of thermophilic methane-producing digesters by the analysis of bacterial lipids. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 50:1428-1433.
  • Nichols, P.D., J.M. Henson, J.B. Guckert, D.E. Nivens, and D.C. White. 1985. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopic methods for microbial ecology: analysis of bacteria, bacteria-polymer mixtures, and biofilms. J. Microbiol. Meth. 4:79-94.
  • Henson, J.M. and P.H. Smith. 1985. Isolation of a butyrate-utilizing bacterium in coculture with Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum from a thermophilic digester. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 49:1461-1466.
  • Rivard, C.J., J.M. Henson, M.V. Thomas, and P.H. Smith. 1983. Isolation and characterization of Methanomicrobium paynteri sp. nov., a mesophilic methanogen isolated from marine sediments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 46:484-490.
  • Henson, J.M., and S.S. Hayasaka. 1982. Effects of the water-soluble fraction of microbiologically or physically altered crude petroleum on the heterotrophic activity of marine bacteria. Mar. Environ. Res. 6:205-214.

Recent Courses

  • MICRO 305 - General Microbiology
  • MICRO 402/602 - Environmental Microbiology
  • MICRO 403/603 - Marine Microbiology
  • MICRO 413/613 - Industrial Microbiology
  • MICRO 491/H491 – Special Problems in Microbiology
  • MICRO 493 – Senior Seminar
  • MICRO 494 – Creative Inquiry
  • MICRO 802 – Bacteriological Techniques
  • MICRO 807 – Current Topics in Microbiology
  • MICRO 812 - Bacterial Metabolism

Graduate Students



  • Divya Chandrasekaran, M.S.
  • Sandra Bediako, M.S.

Professional Affiliations

  • American Society for Microbiology
  • Society for Industrial Microbiology