BBSR 2002 Annual Report - Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences

The resulting libraries of bacterial clones are then screened tofind the individual clones containing the genes that code forthe construction of the desired bioactive molecules, whichmay have important pharmaceutical or other applications.The molecular biology program has established closesynergistic relationships with other BBSR programs as well.The Oceanic Microbial Observatory, developed at BBSR byDrs. Stephen Giovannoni of Oregon State University andCraig Carlson, now at the University of California, SantaBarbara, applies the tools of molecular biology to the study ofmicrobial populations in the Sargasso Sea. The microbialobservatory has taken advantage of, and contributed to, themolecular biology instrumentation infrastructure at BBSR.For example, in 1997 BBSR acquired a state-of-the-art videomicroscope, which allows technicians to catalogue in secondsbacteria or other marine organisms that used to take weeks ormonths to study.Similarly, I am working closely with BBSR’s marine ecotoxicologyprogram, run by Dr. Richard Owen, to use the tools ofgenomics, proteomics and metabolomicsto develop diagnostic testsdesigned to monitor the health of keycomponents of coral reef ecosystems.The molecular biology programwas a key factor in the establishmentof BBSR’s International Center forOcean and Human Health in 1998.This research center is considered tobe one of the first to address oceanhealth/human health connections onan international scale.In addition, BBSR’s new molecularbiology capabilities have brought anew educational dimension to theinstitution over the past decade. Twosummer courses were developed that took advantage of thesecapabilities: Molecular Ecology and Physiology of MarineSymbioses, and Chemosensory Neurobiology in the MarineEnvironment. These continue to be popular offerings inBBSR’s summer sessions. The opportunities to apply the techniquesof molecular biology to questions concerning themarine environment drew an increasing number of applicantsto the annual NSF-funded Research Experience forUndergraduates semester at BBSR. A considerable number ofthese alumni have gone on to their graduate and professionalcareers with a molecular approach to marine biology thatbegan at BBSR.Seminar courses on the application of molecular tools tomarine questions were also added to the curricula of BBSR’sDuke University and University of Rhode Island-RogerWilliams undergraduate spring and fall semester programs.The new Marine Genome Bankdata set may become as significantover time to the world of scienceas BBSR’s Hydrostation “S”time-series measurements,begun in 1954.At the graduate level, a long line of talented and motivatedstudents have conducted master’s and doctoral research inBBSR’s molecular biology laboratories. These students haveapplied molecular techniques to a number of topics, rangingfrom mangrove ecosystems to molecular taxonomy to themolecular physiology of symbiotic relationships that are thefoundation of Bermuda’s coral reef ecosystems. Their worknow comprises a significant contribution to professionalmarine biology literature, and the students themselves havegone on to research, teaching and policy-making careers.From both a research and an educational perspective,2002 was clearly the most fruitful year to date for BBSR’smolecular biology program. The skills and resources of theprogram were combined with those of the Oceanic MicrobialObservatory to develop BBSR’s Marine Genome Bank.Libraries of environmental DNA, taken from blue-water environmentssuch as the Sargasso Sea and inshore environmentssuch as Harrington Sound and various coral reef settings, arebeing built and stored at BBSR. This bank of environmentalgenomic material will be available forthe research endeavors of bothresident and visiting, and academicand industrial, scientists seeking abetter understanding of how biologyworks in marine ecosystems and howthis biology can be harnessed for thebenefit of society.Arguably, this new data set,begun in 2002 from Bermuda’s idealmid-ocean location, may become assignificant over time to the world ofscience as BBSR’s Hydrostation “S”time-series measurements, begun in1954.Another exciting development atBBSR during 2002 was the addition of genomics pioneer Dr.Craig Venter to the Board of Trustees. His standing-room-onlypublic lecture in BBSR’s Hanson Hall in May 2002 broughtincreased attention to the unique opportunities thatBermuda’s location and BBSR’s genomics program provide tothe world of science. By year-end, BBSR had begun a researchcollaboration with Venter, Nobel Laureate Hamilton Smithand their colleagues, which we believe will bear fruit in yearsto come.In the short period of time that it has been in existence,the molecular biology program at BBSR has participated inone of the most profound technological revolutions inmodern science. It’s safe to say that the vision of that 1987planning workshop has more than been fulfilled. At the sametime, the opportunities presented by the current period ofrapid technological and scientific advances are even greater.Left: A diver collects samples from Bermuda’s coral reefs during the 1960sUpper right: Now only small amounts of material from marine sponges are needed for DNA cloning in the molecular biology laboratoryLower right: Associate Research Scientist Dr. Hank Trapido-Rosenthal loads BBSR’s new ABI 310 robotic DNA sequencer11