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Microbiology
South Africa
2026
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Biology and Biochemistry
South Africa
2023

D-Index & Metrics

Microbiology

D-Index
81
Citations
24186
World Ranking
1094
National Ranking
3

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Microbiology in South Africa Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Microbiology in South Africa Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Biology and Biochemistry in South Africa Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Biology and Biochemistry in South Africa Leader Award
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa

Overview

Don A. Cowan is affiliated with the University of Pretoria in South Africa and has contributed extensively to research in environmental science, biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and agricultural and biological sciences. Their work spans various subfields, particularly ecology, molecular biology, ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics, plant science, and atmospheric science.

Their research topics focus primarily on microbial community ecology and physiology, polar research and ecology, gut microbiota and health, biocrusts and microbial ecology, mycorrhizal fungi and plant interactions, genomics and phylogenetic studies, and plant pathogens and fungal diseases.

Recent papers authored or coauthored by Don A. Cowan include:

  • Blind spots in global soil biodiversity and ecosystem function research, 2020, Nature Communications
  • Tracking, targeting, and conserving soil biodiversity, 2021, Science
  • Standardized multi-omics of Earth's microbiomes reveals microbial and metabolite diversity, 2022, Nature Microbiology
  • Multiple energy sources and metabolic strategies sustain microbial diversity in Antarctic desert soils, 2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Distinct assembly mechanisms underlie similar biogeographical patterns of rare and abundant bacteria in Tibetan Plateau grassland soils, 2020, Environmental Microbiology

Frequent co-authors of Don A. Cowan include:

  • Pedro H. Lebre (33 publications)
  • Gillian Maggs-Kölling (23 publications)
  • Thulani P. Makhalanyane (21 publications)
  • Jean-Baptiste Ramond (21 publications)
  • Surendra Vikram (14 publications)

The venues where Don A. Cowan most frequently publishes are:

  • FEMS Microbiology Ecology (8 publications)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (7 publications)
  • Environmental Microbiology (6 publications)
  • Persoonia - Molecular Phylogeny and Evolution of Fungi (6 publications)
  • Scientific Reports (6 publications)

In addition to journal articles, Don A. Cowan has contributed to book publications, including one titled Microbiology of Hot Deserts published by Springer Nature in 2022.

Don A. Cowan has been recognized as a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa.

Best Publications

  • Review and re-analysis of domain-specific 16S primers

    Gillian Baker;Jacques J. Smith;Donald A. Cowan

  • On the rocks: the microbiology of Antarctic Dry Valley soils.

    S. Craig Cary;S. Craig Cary;Ian R. McDonald;John E. Barrett;Don A. Cowan

  • Some like it cold: understanding the survival strategies of psychrophiles

    Pieter De Maayer;Dominique Anderson;Craig Cary;Don A Cowan

  • The search for the ideal biocatalyst.

    Stephanie G. Burton;Donald A. Cowan;Donald A. Cowan;John M. Woodley

  • Microbial ecology of hot desert edaphic systems

    Thulani P. Makhalanyane;Angel Valverde;Eoin Gunnigle;Aline Frossard

  • Metagenomic gene discovery: past, present and future.

    Don Cowan;Quinton Meyer;William Stafford;Samson Muyanga

  • Enhancing the functional properties of thermophilic enzymes by chemical modification and immobilization.

    Don A. Cowan;Roberto Fernandez-Lafuente

  • A reservoir of ‘historical’ antibiotic resistance genes in remote pristine Antarctic soils

    Marc W. Van Goethem;Rian Pierneef;Oliver K. I. Bezuidt;Yves Van De Peer

  • Thermophilic ethanologenesis: future prospects for second-generation bioethanol production

    Mark P. Taylor;Kirsten L. Eley;Steve Martin;Marla I. Tuffin

  • The Healthy Human Blood Microbiome: Fact or Fiction?

    Diego J. Castillo;Riaan F. Rifkin;Riaan F. Rifkin;Don A. Cowan;Marnie Potgieter

  • Xerotolerant bacteria: surviving through a dry spell

    Pedro H. Lebre;Pieter De Maayer;Don A. Cowan

  • Molecular adaptations to psychrophily: the impact of 'omic' technologies.

    Ana Casanueva;Marla I. Tuffin;S. Craig Cary;Don A. Cowan

  • Bacterial Diversity in Three Different Antarctic Cold Desert Mineral Soils

    Jacques J. Smith;Lemese Ah Tow;William Stafford;S. Craig Cary;S. Craig Cary

  • Endangered Antarctic Environments

    Don A. Cowan;Lemese Ah Tow

  • A roadmap for Antarctic and Southern Ocean science for the next two decades and beyond

    M.C. Kennicutt;S.L. Chown;J.J. Cassano;D. Liggett

  • Biomolecular stability and life at high temperatures.

    Roy M. Daniel;Don A. Cowan

  • Non-indigenous microorganisms in the Antarctic: Assessing the risks

    Don A Cowan;Steven Loudon Chown;Peter Convey;Marla Tuffin

  • Standardized multi-omics of Earth’s microbiomes reveals microbial and metabolite diversity

    Unknown

  • Sources of edaphic cyanobacterial diversity in the Dry Valleys of Eastern Antarctica

    Susanna A Wood;Susanna A Wood;Andreas Rueckert;Donald A Cowan;S Craig Cary

  • A correlation between protein thermostability and resistance to proteolysis.

    Roy M. Daniel;Don A. Cowan;Hugh W. Morgan;M.P. Curran

  • Phylogenetic analysis of actinobacterial populations associated with Antarctic Dry Valley mineral soils

    Olubukola O. Babalola;Bronwyn M. Kirby;Marilize Le Roes-Hill;Andrew E. Cook

  • Antarctic Dry Valley mineral soils contain unexpectedly high levels of microbial biomass.

    Don A. Cowan;Nick J. Russell;Adam Mamais;Devon M. Sheppard

Frequent Co-Authors

Antonio Ventosa
Antonio Ventosa University of Seville
William D. Grant
William D. Grant University of Leicester
Stephen B. Pointing
Stephen B. Pointing National University of Singapore
S. Craig Cary
S. Craig Cary University of Waikato
Yanhe Ma
Yanhe Ma Chinese Academy of Sciences
Evelien M. Adriaenssens
Evelien M. Adriaenssens Norwich Research Park
Ian D. Hogg
Ian D. Hogg University of Waikato
Yves Van de Peer
Yves Van de Peer Ghent University
Diana H. Wall
Diana H. Wall Colorado State University
Steven L. Chown
Steven L. Chown Monash University

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