 exploring, preserving and protecting the genetic diversity of the world's oceans |
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Greetings!
Happy World Oceans Day!
Though we celebrate the oceans everyday, we think that now, more than ever, there is an urgent need for protection and preservation of our ocean's biodiversity. We ask you to please mark this occasion by talking to friends, writing to elected officials, participating in one of the many events planned for this day, and by supporting excellent non-profit organizations that work to protect the oceans every day. This month at OGL we have many things to celebrate. We initiated several new projects and collaborations, supplied DNA for an exciting new genome sequencing project, and welcomed several new and returning researchers to our staff. We also had an excellent month of collection in the Philippines, Australia, and the Florida Keys. If you didn't catch the coverage of our field trips this month, it's not too late! Check out the trip reports on our Facebook page!   (**Not on Facebook or Twitter? You don't have to have a login to see our updates)
Please read on to see what we've been up to, and how you can help us continue to accomplish our mission.
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New Projects!
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| Hawaiian Anchialine Lakes
Dr. Santos hard at work in the field | OGL has joined in a research project led by Dr. Scott Santos of Auburn University. His research, recently funded by the National Science Foundation, focuses on marine microbial biodiversity in unique ecosystems of the Hawaiian Islands called anchialine lakes. These lakes are coastal, land-locked bodies of water that exhibit tidal fluctuations and are among Hawaii's most endangered and most rapidly disappearing ecosystems. The Hawaiian Islands are the only location in the U.S. with these precious environments. Dr. Santos' research will shed light on these rare communities and on the steps we need to take to preserve them. OGL will help Dr. Santos to ensure that genomic resources (DNA and living cells) from these communities are preserved and made widely available to the research community.
OGL Provides DNA for Octopus Genome Project
The common octopus, Octopus vulgaris (photo: Albert Kok) | OGL has provided DNA from its extensive archive of genetic materials to support the genome analysis of the common octopus, Octopus vulgaris. This project will shed light on physiology, development, behavior, and evolution of this common but little understood denizen of the deep, reputed to be among the most intelligent members of the invertebrate world!
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| New Season, New Faces | |
Meet our new personnel - my, how we've grown!
(Left to Right: Elisha Allan, Marvin Altamia, Nicole Wood, and Jennifer Fung; not shown: Liz Jackson)  |
OGL has recently welcomed new and returning full-time employees, visiting scientists, and summer students.
Dr. Jennifer Fung, who received her PhD in microbiology at Cornell University, came to us in January from Lanzatech, a biofuel company in New Zealand. She is looking forward to using genomic technology to learn more about how marine bacteria degrade cellulose and to carve new directions for biofuels research.
Elisha Allan, who received her Masters in Biology at University of New Hampshire, joined us in January as a research assistant. Elisha processes collected samples for OGL's biorepository, and she leads research projects to continue the improvement of our DNA production methods, sequencing analysis, and barcoding efforts.
Visiting scientist Marvin Altamia comes to us from the Marine Science Institute, University of Philippines, Diliman. He is currently working to uncover novel cellulase-producing bacterial symbionts from mollusks in the Philippines. His research is part of a large NIH funded project called the Philippine Mollusk Symbiont - International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups (www.pms-icbg.org).
Last but not least, we are lucky to have two returning summer students this year, Nicole Wood, from University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Liz Jackson, from University of Vermont. In her fourth summer of research with OGL, Nicole continues her studies on the evolutionary relationships among marine bacteria. Liz is working to expand OGL's biorepository and continues her research to improve DNA preservation and extraction methods. |
| Coming Soon... | | Novel Bacteria Isolated from the Philippines!
University of Philippines student Mia Ammon working with collections in the field  | Scientists at OGL have been working to isolate novel bacteria in the Philippines this May. Stay tuned next time to see some pictures of the interesting, diverse creatures that they collected and cultured!
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