Microbes: in the lab and the art studio

Glass artwork inspired by microbes.

Most people may be surprised if they saw a microscope sitting on an artist's desk. Microscopes are supposed to be in labs, not in art studios. Local Laramie artist Rene Williams would disagree.

"Everyone should have a microscope but until they do, they can use mine!" Rene says.

Rene is spearheading the Science Loves Art program, one of the outreach components of the new Wyoming EPSCoR grant on microbial life. 

Rene grew up with the need to create. Art became a part of her daily life after she moved to Toulouse, France with her husband and 3 boys. She began exploring architecture, sculpture, cooking, gardening, and history.

Close up of glass fired project.

"We chose to live in Wyoming after France because we wanted to continue our simple lifestyle.   Riding our bikes downtown and living in a small community was appealing, but also being close to nature and the outdoors was important." Rene explains. 

 Rene draws inspiration for her pieces from the natural world. One of her previous projects, the Urban Garden, focuses on the small plant life that continues to thrive in urban environments. 

"I see green moss on the edges of brick walls and lichen growing in beautiful colors on rocks and am inspired by the colors, textures and shapes." Rene says. 

Close up from painting done by Rene Williams.

Rene never saw the need to merge science and art, because she saw them to one. The Science Loves Art program began with a grant from the U.W. Biodiversity Institute.  

"The scientists on this project were all specialists in plants and fossils and we became friends and enjoyed hanging out in the studio and making art together.  I proved to them that everyone can make art and it we all looked forward to our time in the studio." Rene says. 

Moving into the new project, Rene has learned about the microbial world through her collaboration with scientists. As researchers gather data on microbial life, they send interesting shapes or images they see to Rene to use for inspiration. 

"I’ve learned that bacteria/microbes comes in 3 basic shapes: sphere, rod and spiral. These are interesting shapes for abstract art with glass, paper, paint, concrete, etc." Rene explains.

In addition to her own work, Rene has opened the 4th Street Studio. This is her working studio, but it is also open to the public for workshops and events. One of the first workshops the studio will be hosting involves creating fused glass to resemble microbe patterns. Future workshops will include paper marbling, beer making, wine making, welding, paper making, concrete art, and abstract painting. This summer she plans on offering special workshops and events for children. 

This technique creates circles and cells within the glass that resemble microbes.

"Wyoming has amazing artists, some of the best scientists and a very curious population!  So far, we have had amazing response during our events and open hours at 4^th Street Studios.  Having a place to create art and collaborate with other friends and scientists and just talk about art and science has been something that the public is eager to have access to." Rene says.  

Rene looks forward to continuing her outreach efforts through SLA in Laramie, and throughout Wyoming. She plans on bringing her artwork and workshops to schools, museums, and community organizations around the state.

"I would like for my artwork and events to bring conversation and curiosity so that the general public are aware of how important microbes are to our lives.  Simple abstract paintings or pieces of artwork can be enough to begin that conversation and awareness." Rene says. 

Science Magazine article on the impact of Bioenergy Plantations

Earlier this month, Science Magazine published an article covering the development of a EPSCoR Track 2 grant project that the University of Wyoming is working on. UW researchers are collaborating with researchers from the University of Montana and the University of South Dakota to explore the impact of BECCS, (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage) on the upper Missouri River Basin. This region includes Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas.

Bioenergy is classified as crops that are grown for fuel purposes, such as corn used in ethanol.
Carbon capture and storage is a technology that takes carbon that is released into the atmosphere by power plants and compresses it into a liquid form. Once in this form it can be stored underground miles below the surface.

Bioenergy plantations and carbon capture may be a viable solution to removing large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, but implementing the system would require a large amount of land. The practice has not been studied on a large scale, and this study hopes to look at how BECCS may effect food production, water use, and biodiversity in the region.

To learn more, the article can be found here.

The Newest Dirt on Microbial Communities

Have you ever struggled to keep a house plant alive? Or are the flowers in your garden wilting? New research in microbial communities that live just below the surface of these plants may give us the answer to growing bigger and better plants. 

In October of 2017 the ISME journal for microbial ecology published an article from University of Wyoming graduate student Charley Hubbard. His research was focused on how a plants circadian clock influences microbial community structure and function. After joining Cynthia Weinig's lab at UW Hubbard was able to combine his experience with bacteria with his interest in plants. Studies across disciplines have shown that microbes are extremely beneficial for their hosts.

"In plants, microbes can affect plant nutrient access, response to stress, the timing of important life history events, gene expression, growth and so much more," Hubbard explains.

Figure 1: Changes within the human circadian rhythm

In addition to microbes, the circadian rhythm is another important component of Hubbard's research. Also known as the inner biological clock, the circadian rhythm is found in a variety of organisms, including humans. This rhythm operates within the 24 hour period, and helps to regulate our sleep patterns, feeding behavior, and other physiological changes.

Hubbard's findings suggested that there was a difference in microbial communities depending on the plants circadian clock. In turn, the different microbes living in the soil affected the growth of the plant.

Figure 2: The Rhizosphere is where microbial communities live

"I think it is a Goldilocks and the three bears kind of scenario, where the three bears (plants with a 20, 24, and 28 hour circadian period) have selected their beds (microbial communities) and Goldilocks (plant with a 24 hour circadian period) prefers (grows largest in) a certain bed," Hubbard explains.

Hubbard looked specifically at the rhizosphere, the area where the root meets the soil, and where many microorganisms live.

"Essentially, we pull plants out of their pots, shake the roots until only the soil closely adhering to the roots remains, use specialized kits to take the DNA for the closely adhering soil, and then send that DNA to a lab in Massachusetts," Hubbard explains.

When they receive results from the lab, they are given huge files of DNA sequencing. This sequencing information is run through a special software to determine what microbes are associated with the plant.

Hubbard's publication comes out at a time when many other researchers are exploring the circadian rhythm in organisms. The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to a group of scientists who studied the circadian rhythm in fruit flies. These findings, as well as other findings focused on plant's circadian clocks, helped to inform Hubbard's project.

Hubbard is running follow up projects on this paper's findings in the context of natural variation in the circadian clock. The circadian clock within a plant may change depending on it's elevation, which would also affect the microbial community it lives with.

"If differences in the circadian clock lead to differences in microbial communities, then it is possible that plants at differing elevations associate with different microbial communities," Hubbard adds.

Figures 1, 2