Dana Skorupa, assistant research professor in MSU's Center for Biofilm Engineering, holds a collection of microbes sampled from Yellowstone National Park thermal features. PHOTO BY ADRIAN SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ
By Jessianne CastleEBS ENVIRONMENTAL & OUTDOORS EDITOR
BOZEMAN –
Adorned in rubber boots and equipped with a lengthy rod, a handful of Montana
State University students forayed into Yellowstone National Park in early
September.
Armed with
probes, glass vials and notebooks, they were testing thermal waters in the
remote Heart Lake Geyser Basin, which is home to more than 200 geothermal
features.
The 11
students hiked 9 miles to their backcountry camp in two groups for two separate
four-day trips, and were accompanied by Dana Skorupa, an assistant research
professor in MSU’s Center for Biofilm Engineering, and Brent Payton, the
director of the college’s interdisciplinary Thermal Biology Institute. Working
in the second week of the school semester, they were tasked with collecting hot
spring water samples that they would later culture in a lab in an effort to
break down plastic.
The sampling trip was a component of a course in the Honors College, aptly named “Extreme Microbiology in Yellowstone,” where undergraduate students learn through hands-on experience how thermophiles can be used for biotechnology.
MSU students prepare to collect thermal spring water samples from Yellowstone National Park. PHOTO CORTESY OF DANA SKORUPA
“It’s an
opportunity to have [students] learn about and see and practice the actual
process of science, from designing an experiment, carrying it out, interpreting
the data, communicating their findings,” said Skorupa, who is the course
instructor. “From start to finish, they see the whole process, which is unique.
Not only is the content something that hasn’t been offered at MSU, but it’s
also a research-based course. There’s very few undergraduate courses that offer
that at universities.”
The class is
the first time the university has offered content on Yellowstone’s microbial
thermophiles and was launched in 2016 as a part of a $1 million grant from the
W.M. Keck Foundation. The grant provided funds for four years and is also
funding research at the Thermal Biology Institute.
With the
grant expiration this year, Skorupa said faculty are looking at ways to secure
funds as they plan to continue offering the course permanently. She says it’s
an important opportunity to connect undergraduate students with researchers and
is a great way to get younger students excited about conducting their own
research.
“Being able
to contribute to research so early in their undergraduate career benefits
students in that it provides a window into topics that are of interest to the
greater scientific community,” she said. “Often times, even when undergraduate
courses have this research component, it’s not steeped in actual science the
professors are conducting in their labs.”
Over the
past few years, the microbiology class has evolved from challenging students to
grow a microbe from Yellowstone that’s never been cultured before, to this
year’s task of finding a heat-stable microbe that degrades plastic, which could
be used in the recycling process to break down single-use plastics. This
specific research is an extension of Skorupa’s own work in the lab, where she’s
beginning to see promising results.
“These undergrads could be the first ones to find biodegraders and enzymes from these thermophiles that might be really useful in helping recycling streams,” she said. “I like to tell them that if even one of our four groups is successful that’s a huge step forward in our field of finding applications for these thermophiles. They go into it knowing it’s a long shot. But that’s part of learning the scientific process—it’s not always successful.”
A view of Heart Lake Geyser Basin where a class of microbiology students at Montana State University recently collected samples for a study on plastic degradation. PHOTO CORTESY OF DANA SKORUPA
Emory
Hoelscher-Hull, 18, is a first semester freshman majoring in conservation
biology who is enrolled in Skorupa’s class. She hails from Seattle and says one
of the reasons she came to MSU is because she wanted to do undergraduate
research.
“A year ago
I could never have imagined working on a grant-funded project, working with
professional researchers to solve real-world issues,” she said. “I feel really
lucky to be a part of a research study that has such big applications.”
She and the rest of her class have just finished
setting up a growing environment for their microbes. Within the controlled
setting of the lab, they placed their microbes, liquid nutrients and plastic
into culture vials and will monitor the cultures for growth and plastic
breakdown over the next two months.
Hoelscher-Hull’s
group of three is looking to find a microbe that breaks down PET plastic and
throughout the process she said she’s learned valuable skills for conducting
science in the field, as well as how to do basic lab procedures. “I think the
skills I’m learning right now will definitely be helpful.”
Morgan
Anderson, a 20-year-old sophomore from Oregon studying fish and wildlife
management and ecology elaborated, adding that they’re also learning how to
design an experiment and actually manipulate real variables rather than just
talk about hypothetical variables.
“I think
it’s really incredible professors are taking the time to set up this class and
work with us … giving a chance for hands-on research,” she said. “It’s a really
special experience that not everyone gets.”