Meramec Students Discover New Viruses
Thursday, March 4, 2021
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It was also the year that St. Louis Community College-Meramec students discovered 15 new, never-before-seen viruses.
These students were all enrolled in freshman-level biology courses that participate in the SEA-PHAGES (Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science) program. This program aims to increase interest and retention in the biological sciences by engaging students in research that’s typically only available at large research universities.
More than 100 colleges and universities across the nation participate in the SEA-PHAGES program. Yet, STLCC is one of only a handful of community colleges currently participating.
Students begin by digging in the soil to find new viruses. They then progress through a variety of microbiology techniques, ending with complex genome annotation and bioinformatic analyses. Students then have the opportunity to name a new organism, present their findings at a national meeting, called the SEA Symposium, and co-author a scientific paper.
Bob Harms, Ph.D., professor of biological sciences at Meramec, teaches the Principles of Biology classes that include the SEA-PHAGES program.
The pandemic may not have cancelled biology labs on campus, but it has put a damper on this year’s SEA Symposium, which will be presented virtually. In the past, several STLCC students have travelled to the symposium to present their research. Students have not yet decided if they will attend this year’s event, scheduled for April 9-11.
STLCC students have so far discovered 56 viruses, photographed many of them under an electron microscope, and determined the complete DNA sequences for nine of them.
Learn more about the viruses discovered by the STLCC students.