LIFE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN: MICROORGANISMS IN HYDROTHERMAL VENTS
Briana Kubik’s research on hydrothermal vents can shed light on early life on Earth and life on other planets
Long before joining the Microbiology PhD program at UMass, Briana Kubik’s passion for science was already taking shape. In high school, she worked on her first science project about digestion in carnivorous plants, teaming up with her twin sister, Angela, as lab partners. Fast forward to today, both twins are actively involved in cutting-edge projects for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). While Kubik is delving into research on hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean, her twin sister focuses on an equally captivating project in outer space. Together the Kubik twins cover the edges of an entire spectrum of scientific inquiry, from the depths of the ocean to the outer reaches of space.
After this project in high school, Kubik’s interest in science kept growing, leading her to pursue a range of scientific interests. In college, Kubik studied biology and biomathematics at SUNY College at Geneseo. In those years, she learned computational modeling and worked on modeling the spread of diseases. In her junior year of college, she worked at The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, where she enhanced her computational skills. There, she made computational pipelines that help to inform researchers how to prioritize their research needs for cancer genomics.
After gaining experience from these different projects in biology, Kubik set out to find a new project that would allow her to apply her existing skills while acquiring new ones. At the time she was applying to new projects, her current faculty advisor, James Holden, had a project on microbial dynamics in hydrothermal vents. Despite microbiology not being Kubik's primary field, her enthusiasm for exploring new scientific frontiers, coupled with her exceptional computational prowess, made her the ideal choice for the team. Furthermore, in her third year of PhD studies, the project secured funding from NASA's Exobiology program, heightening its allure for Kubik, who had always aspired to contribute to a NASA project.
The main goal of the project that Kubik is working on is to better understand how the microorganisms at hydrothermal vents compete for resources and form complex communities. Kubik explains that hydrothermal vents resemble deep sea volcanoes; forming in areas where tectonic plates in the ocean floor are moving apart. From the gaps created by moving tectonic plates, which are the parts that make up the Earth’s solid outer crust, known as the lithosphere, cold seawater seeps into the Earth’s crust, is heated by magma, and then emerges as hot, mineral-rich fluid out of the ocean floor. Although the environment is too harsh for most organisms, the high energy and mineral content provide the conditions for certain microorganisms to thrive, turning this seemingly hostile environment into a vibrant ecosystem.
The organisms in hydrothermal vents process the chemicals in the vent, change and transition them, and constitute an early stage of the global biochemical cycle. Understanding life in hydrothermal vents is important to understand how the chemicals are cycled in our oceans, and ultimately, the broader global biogeochemical cycle. Moreover, this can also help us to learn about early life on Earth and the potential for extraterrestrial life. Scientists hypothesize that the complex life that we know today started with simple microorganisms like the ones at these hydrothermal vents, and that if life exists on other planets, it is likely to be simple, like the ones at these hydrothermal vents. By studying these unique ecosystems, we can gain valuable insights into the fundamental processes that govern life across the universe.
Kubik’s project brings together different research methods: laboratory experiments, computational experiments, and field research. In the laboratory, Kubik and her team study certain organisms that live in hydrothermal vents. They feed these microorganisms and observe how different types of microorganisms behave and compete when there are not enough resources. As a second step, they plug data from these observations into computational models in order to make predictions about subseafloor microbial dynamics. Finally, as a team, they conduct field research to test their predictions. For one of their expeditions, they sailed 300 miles into the northeast Pacific Ocean on a ship (Image-1). From the ship, they sent a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to the hydrothermal vents to collect samples (Image-2). Kubik and her team members could monitor the ocean environment through the ROV’s camera, allowing them to view the underwater landscape in real-time on the ship’s monitors. (Image-3).
Recently, as a part of her work in computational modeling, Kubik amended an already existing computational model by adding a new equation to it. Prior to this, researchers could use this model for computations for only a single kind of organism. The equation that Kubik added allows computations for a competitive organism as well. Her article on this work has been recently published.
Kubik says she thinks the most rewarding aspect of her project is its interdisciplinary nature. She has collaborated with researchers who work in diverse fields from astrobiology to microbiology to ocean sciences. By virtue of this, Kubik finds the chance to learn about these different fields.
Kubik says, “I love applying my experience to new interesting ideas.” This summer, she leveraged her PhD experience by interning at the Good Food Institute (GFI), a nonprofit think tank dedicated to enhancing the global food system for the benefit of the planet, people, and animals through research into meat alternatives. At GFI, Kubik developed open-access materials to educate individuals on microbial metabolisms and feedstocks used for alternative protein products.
Kubik is also a successful participant in UMass’s Three Minute Thesis competition being voted the People’s Choice awardee by the audience in the 2023 event. Kubik’s genuine passion for science and her ambition to explore new frontiers led her to an incredible project in microbiology. She has recently defended her dissertation successfully. Since her initial science project, Kubik has consistently sought out new opportunities to contribute to our understanding of life and the betterment of human existence. After earning her PhD from UMass, she is poised to continue making significant contributions to this vital field.
Written by Ece Derya Senbas, PhD student in Philosophy, as part of the Graduate School's Public Writing Fellows Program.