CBE News Update April, 2003 Volume 6, Issue 3-4   It's Not Just the Reviews that are Glowing   Science-Art Collaboration Uses Bioluminescent Bacteria to Create Paintings that Light Up Engineering Education     National Science Foundation's ENGINEERING NEWS, 02/2003 republished with permission   _____________________________________________________________________________   Some may think them strange bedfellows, but science and art have been brought together in an innovative collaboration at Montana State University's Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE), formerly an NSF-supported Engineering Research Center (ERC). Reflecting the interdisciplinary spirit at the core of the ERC program, scientists, artists, and billions of glow-in-the-dark bacteria joined forces to produce a collection of eerily beautiful paintings exhibited at the university beginning on Earth Day (April 22nd) 2002. Known as "bioglyphs," the paintings were a hit as both an aesthetic and educational experience "microbiology for the other side of the brain," as one exhibit visitor commented.   Led by staff from CBE and the university's School of Art, the Bioglyphs project was executed over a two-month period by a 16-person team (8 from CBE and 8 from the School of Art). Art students learned the basics about lab equipment and technique and created their "paintings" by streaking prepared petri dishes using a kind of "invisible ink" containing liquid culture medium inoculated with so- called bioluminescent bacteria. Through the phenomenon of bioluminescence, visible light is emitted by living organisms such as fireflies and various fish, fungi, and bacteria. This light is produced without significant heat via chemical reactions involving enzymes and specialized phosphorous-containing molecules. Shown with gallery lights on (above) and off (below), this bioglyph painting was created by MSU art student Angela Bowlds in cooperation with CBE scientists and billions of bioluminescent bacteria. Photos © Montana State University. Generating a bluish light, the bacteria used in the paintings probably are a Vibrio species, though their exact identity is unknown. They prefer a high-salt medium and relatively low temperatures. Once the plates are streaked with bacteria, the microorganisms multiply and begin to produce light within 24 hours. In darkened galleries, the only light available for viewing these "paintings" is produced by the bacteria themselves. (Occasionally, gallery attendants had to switch on the lights to prove to viewers that the paintings were not created by projected light.)   The paintings last about five days, as bacteria proliferate and finally exhaust the nutrients available in the petri dishes. The intensity of light produced varies over the five-day period, peaking with bacterial growth and then declining as the microorganisms die off. Many viewers returned to the gallery several times over the course of the exhibit to see how the paintings changed over time.   A second Bioglyphs exhibit was organized in December 2002 at Manhattan College in New York City, where a former CBE graduate student now serves on the faculty. The project coincided with ArtSci 2002, an international conference sponsored by Art & Science Collaborations, Inc. While in New York for this conference, Montana State project organizers Betsey Pitts (CBE CBE Research Specialist Joanna Heersink holds petri dishes containing proliferating colonies of bioluminescent bacteria. Photo © Montana State University. research associate and microscopist), Sara Mast (Professor of Art), and Peg Dirckx (CBE communications specialist) assisted students with this second exhibit. In New York as in Montana, aspiring environmental and other engineers were fascinated by this unique collaboration. Indeed, the New York students showed up to participate in the Bioglyphs project even though the city was essentially shut down by a snowstorm that day. For more information on the Bioglyphs project, contact Peg Dirckx at  peg_d@erc.montana.edu, (406) 994-1846.