Where are you from, and what is your role in Extreme 2002?

I am a postdoc working with Dr. Adam Marsh at the University of Delaware. We are collaborating with Dr. Cary to assess the biochemical and molecular mechanisms used by the Pompeii worm (Alvinella pompejana) to survive the temperature and pressure challenges it encounters in its hydrothermal vent habitat. During the cruise, I will extract proteins from the Pompeii worm for studies of their activity and stability. Because much cellular information follows a path from DNA to RNA to protein, I will also extract the worm's messenger RNA to create cDNA libraries. A cDNA library is a stable DNA copy of the less stable RNA messages (mRNA) present at the time the samples were taken. The libraries will be used to determine patterns of gene expression within the worm in response to its environment and serve as source material for cloning genes of interest. Protein, mRNA, and cDNA will also be stored for later use upon our return to Delaware.

What questions are you trying to answer and why?

Life on the bottom of the sea at a hydrothermal vent system is challenging. Animals must adapt to the high pressures (250 times greater than at the sampling site's sea surface) and wide range of temperatures (40°C changes) they may encounter. What are the biochemical and molecular adaptations that vent animals employ to address this challenge? The polychaete (bristle worm), Alvinella pompejana, may experience a large temperature gradient across its body because it builds tubes directly on the surface of high-temperature hydrothermal vent chimneys, potentially exposing its tail to extreme heat, while its head extends into the surrounding colder waters. One specific question we will address is: "Are the patterns of protein stability and gene expression different between the head and tail"? Comparing these patterns within a single species may help us identify previously unrecognized global mechanisms of thermal adaptation.

Why is this research important? What are the benefits?

At a very basic level, biologists seek to understand the diversity of life on Earth and, by extension, the potential for life on other planets. By understanding how a subset of Earth's species survive (and thrive!) at a hydrothermal vent, we define the "universe of adaptation" to extreme habitats that is possible on Earth. From this starting point, we can then conceptually explore how life may have begun and in what forms it may exist elsewhere. From a more immediate, practical perspective, understanding how the components of a complex system have been modified to function at high temperature and pressures could guide the production of similarly modified compounds for industrial/manufacturing purposes.

What's your educational background and what lured you into marine research?

I knew that I wanted to be a marine scientist from a very early age. To me, the marine realm represents this planet's greatest unknown habitat, despite the fact that it covers over 70% of the Earth's surface and provides more than 70% of the planet's potentially habitable space. How can we know so little about something so big and of such clear importance to life on Earth? I particularly enjoy the challenge of combining many different biological disciplines (ecology, evolution, biochemistry, molecular biology) to address the questions posed by explorations in marine science.

I received my B.S. in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina. I did undergraduate research on tissue regeneration in brittlestars (relatives of starfish), marine environmental chemistry, and my honors thesis in chemical ecology, a research field that seeks to understand how animals interact via naturally-produced chemicals (e.g., pheromones). I pursued marine chemical ecology for both my M.S. (University of Delaware) and Ph.D. (University of South Carolina), studying how natural compounds produced and released by marine animals shape the structure and function of benthic (bottom) communities. During my graduate work, I continued to develop my interests in protein biochemistry and molecular biology, which led to my first postdoctoral position in genetics at the University of Georgia. At UGA, I developed skills in genomics and microarray (DNA chip) technology. I am fortunate to be able to apply these newly acquired skills in my current postdoctoral position at the University of Delaware's College of Marine Studies.