The Marine Biological Laboratory is pleased to announce the kickoff of the 2019 MBL Photo Contest! The contest will recognize the finest images of life science specimens and macro photos of MBL research and/or research locations captured while participating in one of our research or educational programs.
The contest is open to anyone with an MBL ID who is 18 years or older. Images submitted must be unpublished. Images that have earned any award, honorable mention, recognition or prize in any other competition are NOT eligible.
Winning images may be considered for inclusion in the MBL 2020 calendar, publications, website and promotional materials.
For more information and to enter, visit mbl.edu/photo-contest.
Contact: Diana Kenney, Marine Biological Laboratory
dkenney@mbl.edu; 508-289-7139
By Jennifer Tsang
A layer of bacteria in an unusual place, the esophagus of a cuttlefish. Bacteria (red) are in a layer of mucus (green) lining the inside of the esophagus. Cuttlefish cell nuclei are shown in blue. Credit: Tabita Ramírez-Puebla and Jessica Mark Welch
WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- Animals have an intimate and important connection with the microbial populations (microbiomes) that live inside their bodies. This holds for the behaviorally sophisticated cuttlefish, whose microbiome, it turns out, contains only two different kinds of bacteria.
In a collaboration led by Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) scientist Jessica Mark Welch, scientists characterized the microbiome of the European common cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis, an animal whose impressive camouflage skills and behavior have long been studied. They published their findings in this month’s issue of mSystems.
The project began when Roger Hanlon of the MBL and Jack Gilbert of University of California, San Diego, chose the cuttlefish to look for a connection between the gut microbiome and behavior. However, they first needed to identify the microbes present.
“Not much is known about the microbiomes of cephalopods (cuttlefish, squid and octopus), other than a famous symbiosis between the bobtail squid and Vibrio bacteria in its light organ,” says Mark Welch.
The European common cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis, is a master of camouflage. Credit: Roger Hanlon
Holly Lutz, a postdoctoral scientist from Gilbert’s lab, examined microbial populations from the cuttlefish’s digestive tract, gills, and skin. She found that the cuttlefish microbiome has just two families of bacteria: Vibrionaceae and Piscirickettsiaceae. By comparison, humans have hundreds of different kinds of bacteria in the gut microbiome alone.
The simplicity of the cuttlefish microbiome came with other surprises. Tabita Ramírez-Puebla, a postdoctoral scientist at the MBL, fluorescently probed the bacteria to reveal their organization under the microscope. “It turned out that most of the microbes were in the esophagus, an unusual place to find the most dense community of microbes,” says Mark Welch.
Bacteria in the Vibrio family include some species that cause disease, but others form symbiotic relationships with their hosts, such as in the bobtail squid. “It’s interesting that we find those Vibrios in association with the cuttlefish. It suggests that there is a long-term evolutionary relationship between Vibrios and marine invertebrates,” says Mark Welch.
Identifying bacteria in the esophagus of the cuttlefish. In this close-up view, two different probes both identify the same cells: red shows bacteria and purple shows the family Vibrionaceae. Using more than one probe increases confidence in the identification. Credit: Tabita Ramírez-Puebla and Jessica Mark Welch
While Vibrio species are sometimes found in the gastrointestinal tract of fish, the findings hint at an expanded range of organisms and body sites associated with Vibrio. It’s possible that Vibrio species in the esophagus serve as a reservoir of bacteria that seed the cuttlefish gut, bringing along enzymes that can aid in digestion. Or Vibrio colonization of the esophagus (and the rest of the animal) may be pathogenic or opportunistic.
Understanding the microbiome of cuttlefish can help aquariums care for these animals. “We need to know how to keep them healthy and knowing something about their microbiome is very useful,” says Mark Welch. For example, antibiotic treatment can alter an animal’s microbiome, causing unintended consequences elsewhere in the animal. In their study, the scientists treated cuttlefish with enrofloxacin, an antibiotic commonly used by aquarium veterinarians. They found enrofloxacin had no effect on the cuttlefish microbiome.
This research is part of the Microbiomes and Genomes of Marine Organisms initiative at the MBL, which aims to develop more than 100 species of diverse marine organisms as systems to investigate host-microbe interactions. Understanding an organism’s microbiome can open many doors for exploration of behavior, ecology, evolution, and more. In the case of the cuttlefish, whose behavior is well studied, they provide a unique opportunity to study how changes in its microbiome may affect behavior.
Citation:
Holly L. Lutz and S. Tabita Ramírez-Puebla et al (2019) A Simple Microbiome in the European Common Cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis. mSystems DOI: 10.1128/mSystems.00177-19
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The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery – exploring fundamental biology, understanding marine biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago.
Linda E. Hyman
WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- Linda E. Hyman, Associate Provost at Boston University School of Medicine, has been named the new Burroughs Wellcome Director of Education at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL). Her appointment begins in mid-August.
Hyman brings more than 25 years of experience to the position, which oversees direction of all the MBL’s academic programs, including the world-renown Advanced Research Discovery courses. She will lead the expansion of MBL offerings at all levels—from secondary students to undergraduates, graduates, and post-graduates, capitalizing on the facilities and resources of the MBL and leveraging, in particular, the MBL’s relationship with the University of Chicago.
“Hyman’s combined experiences as a senior-level administrator, educator and scientist make her an ideal choice to develop an innovative and ambitious vision for the MBL’s academic programs,” said MBL Director Nipam Patel.
Currently, Hyman leads the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS), the arm of the Boston University Medical School that oversees all graduate students and postdoctoral trainees. She is responsible for managing all aspects of the 1,000-student division and also serves as principal investigator on federal grants, including a Broadening Experiences for Scientific Training (BEST) award from the National Institutes of Health. An accomplished and active scientist with expertise in molecular genetics, Hyman also holds the appointment of Professor of Microbiology at GMS.
Hyman formerly served as Division Director in Molecular and Cellular Biosciences at the National Science Foundation, as Vice Provost for Health Science at Montana State University, and as Director of the WWAMI Medical Education Program, University of Washington School of Medicine’s multi-state medical education program. There, she also acted as Assistant Dean for Regional Affairs at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Hyman received a B.S. from State University of New York at Albany and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Biology from Brandeis University. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Tufts University School of Medicine. In 1981, she served as a course assistant in the MBL Embryology course.
Hyman succeeds Jocelyn Malamy, who served as MBL’s Interim Director of Education while continuing to serve in her University of Chicago positions of Master of the Biological Sciences Collegiate Division and Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology.
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The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery – exploring fundamental biology, understanding marine biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago.
The MBL offers immersive courses, workshops, and conferences year-round. Central to the MBL’s identity are its advanced, discovery-based courses for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty. READ MORE >
MBL scientists pursue research in diverse areas of fundamental biological discovery, to explore the origins, diversity, and nature of life on a changing planet and to inform the human condition. READ MORE >
The MBL’s convening power attracts the world’s most accomplished scientists to Woods Hole to carry out some of their most creative and far-reaching work. READ MORE >
The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery – exploring fundamental biology, understanding biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago.