Corn is the backbone of the American food supply. Yet, about 10% of corn (equal to a field as big as the entire state of Florida!) is lost to disease and other types of crop stress each year. How can we make corn and other crops hardier so that we can grow more food, using less land and other resources? In her thesis research, Katie Murphy studies the synthesis of biochemicals produced by corn that help it survive stressful conditions such as drought and disease. She and her colleagues identified a new class of biochemicals called dolabralexins and showed that corn roots produce these molecules in response to drought and fungal infection, two common types of crop stress. She also determined that synthesis of dolabralexins and other terpenes influences the root microbiome of corn plants. Finally, Murphy’s work showed that dolabralexins have direct antifungal properties and identified the functional groups on dolabralexins that are necessary for this function. These findings may help scientists develop stress-resistant crops so that we are better equipped to feed a growing global population.

In his second talk, Kriegstein provides an overview of the use of cerebral organoids to study brain development and disease. Cerebral organoids are models that can be produced from induced pluripotent stem cells. Although organoids can contain the same broad categories of cell types found in the brain, organoids lack the structural, layer-like organization observed in the primary tissue. In addition, the gene expression profile is different between organoids and primary brain tissue. Nevertheless, although organoids do not reproduce all of the features of a developing human cortex, organoids can be a powerful model to study neuronal diseases and evolution, particularly when studying cells that cannot be found in animal models (e.g. oRG cells) or when scientists do not have access to primary brain tissue.

How do neurons develop to confer humans their unique brain functions? Dr. Arnold Kriegstein compares and contrasts the development of neurons from radial glial cells (RGCs) in mice and humans. In mice, RGCs give rise to most of the central nervous system’s neurons and glia and provide scaffolding for neurons to migrate. In contrast, human RGCs give rise to a unique set of cells, the outer subventricular zone radial glia (oRG) cells, which divide via mitotic somal translocation (MST). The oRG cells predominantly produce and guide the migration of the upper layer cortical neurons. Although rodents have oRG-like cells, these cells are more abundant in humans, and contribute to the large size of the human brain and possibly its unique function.

In her second and third videos, Iwasa provides an overview of the animation process. She shows different software that can be used to create molecular models (e.g. UCSF chimera), and illustrates the process of creating an animation and finalizing the video using software like Maya and Adobe After Effects. These videos will familiarize you with the process of creating an animation and show best practice techniques when using visual communication in biology.

In her second and third videos, Iwasa provides an overview of the animation process. She shows different software that can be used to create molecular models (e.g. UCSF chimera), and illustrates the process of creating an animation and finalizing the video using software like Maya and Adobe After Effects. These videos will familiarize you with the process of creating an animation and show best practice techniques when using visual communication in biology.

Scientists commonly use visual representation of data to show their results and ideas. In this seminar, Dr. Janet Iwasa provides an introduction to the field of molecular animation, and walks us through the process of using visualization tools to communicate scientific information. In her first video, Iwasa summarizes the common types of visualizations used in biology, explains the steps you should take to create a model figure, and summarizes key elements you should consider when creating your figures and models.

Matt Meselson and Frank Stahl were in their mid-20s when they performed what is now recognized as one of the most beautiful experiments in modern biology. In this short film, Matt and Frank share how they devised the groundbreaking experiment that proved semiconservative DNA replication, what it was like to see the results for the first time, and how it felt to be at the forefront of molecular biology research in the 1950s. This film celebrates a lifelong friendship, a shared love of science, and the serendipity that can lead to foundational discoveries about the living world.

In her third talk, Dr. Huber describes how a method known as RNA stable isotope probing (SIP) was used to characterize the metabolically active autotrophic microbes at an underwater vent at Axial Seamount. Dr. Huber’s group found that temperature influences the metabolic pathways, including the carbon fixation pathways, used by different organisms collected at the same vent. In addition, Dr. Huber’s group compared microbial activity across three vents and found that all three have different microbes that are active in a similar temperature environment. These findings suggest that subseafloor microbes prefer some environments over others and use different metabolic pathways in different environmental contexts.

In her second talk, Dr. Huber describes her research, which integrates microbiology, molecular biology, and ocean sciences approaches to characterize the microbial ecosystem below Axial Seamount, an underwater volcano off the coast of Oregon. Dr. Huber outlines how her group used environmental DNA and RNA sequencing techniques to analyze the crustal fluids (mix of ocean water & hydrothermal vent fluid) leaking from underneath the sea floor at three deep-sea vents. Her group determined that the metabolic potential of organisms was similar across vents (as indicated by DNA sequencing) but that there were larger differences in the “activity” of the microbes across vents (as indicated by mRNA profiling). Furthermore, Dr. Huber’s group identified vent-specific subseafloor microbial populations.

A mile or more below the surface of the ocean, microbes dominate the deep sea life. In this seminar, Dr. Julie Huber describes her research to better understand the microbial ecosystem in the rocky crust below the ocean floor. She begins the series by describing how reactions between seawater and the elements in ocean rocks enable chemosynthetic ecosystems to exist in the deep sea. She then introduces us to the tools scientists use to study microbial deep sea life below the ocean floor.