USU scientists study bacteria in Great Salt Lake
USU’s post-doctoral scientists in metagenomics are breaking ground in bacterial research in the waters of the Great Salt Lake, a project funded by the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL).
The partnership with EMSL began two years ago; however, this is the first project EMSL has asked USU to execute.
“Universities like MIT, Harvard and Yale are doing this same type of research,” said Jacob Parnell, a USU biologist for the Center of Integrated BioSystems. “Our partnership with EMSL laboratory allows us to be on the cutting edge of microbial ecology.”
The project aims to distinguish the difference in the way proteins carry out respiration in bacteria with oxygen, opposed to other compounds like heavy metals, Parnell said. Currently, the Genome Institute, part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., is sequencing all the bacteria and archaea from a water sample of the Great Salt Lake taken by USU biologists. It will then determine the proteins present in the bacteria’s DNA.
Jeannine Hunemann, project coordinator for USU’s Center of Integrated BioSystems, said once EMSL researchers establish a protein database, USU biologists will observe the way proteins change using different elements.
Parnell said, “The project will help look at all of the proteins as they change from breathing oxygen to a different compound.”
He said when the sun goes down at the end of the day, bacteria can no longer perform photosynthesis using sunlight, and they use up the oxygen in the water quickly. Because of the high concentration of salt in the water, it is difficult for oxygen to be produced, even with sunlight. Bacteria must rely on compounds like nitrates and heavy metals to stay alive, Parnell said. Bacteria must change their proteins as their environment changes to remain functional, he said.
Giovanni Rompato, Parnell’s partner in the bacteria research, said it would not be possible to do the research without EMSL, and USU is privileged to have the opportunity to participate in the prestigious experiments. Without EMSL, USU would not have the technology necessary to perform the research, he said.
Rompato said, “We have had some samples submitted, but the bulk of the project will be done over the next three years.”
There are 100 to 300 different types of bacteria and archaea in the community being sampled, Parnell said, which is a relatively small number compared to the bacteria count in soil. He said one teaspoon of soil can contain 10,000 species of bacteria. In comparison, Parnell said researching bacteria in water is “a piece of cake.” Parnell’s and Rompato’s research will cover the bacteria life specifically located in the north arm of the lake.
“We had the proposal from the Department of Energy to do all the DNA within this community, and one of the things we found out when we did it is compared to many of the communities we have. This is a very simple community,” Parnell said.
The groundbreaking research will create many benefits in the realm of energy conservation, Parnell said. First of all, it will be a valuable teaching tool for current and future biologists. He said by studying a more simple community, he will be able to look at a bacterium after putting it in a different environment and observe its changes, which is more difficult to observe in a complex community. He said the project is one that few universities are able to participate in. The project will give implications of how bacteria was first able to use oxygen, and how bacteria keeps the environment clean of heavy metals and toxic chemicals, he said.
Rompato and Parnell are also working with microbiologist Bart Weimer from the University of California-Davis and EMSL scientist Stephen Callister on the bacterial research project.
“This is going to give us more information than we have ever had before about the Great Salt Lake,” Parnell said. “The lake is really a treasure and this is something we have in our backyard. Many who have grown up in Utah think it’s a waste of water because it holds so much salt but understanding how bacteria survives in such a hostile environment can greatly benefit us.”
– catherine.meidell@aggiemail.usu.edu