Scientists from the University's Extreme 2001: A Deep-Sea Odyssey project and Amersham Biosciences have succeeded in the first-ever DNA sequencing experiments to be carried out while at sea.

Using the 274-foot research vessel Atlantis and submersible Alvin, the team conducted a pioneering environmental genomic study of the strange life that inhabits super-hot hydrothermal vents almost two miles deep in the Pacific Ocean.

By the end of the 17-day research cruise, the scientists had sequenced slightly fewer than 2 million base pairs of DNA from different microbes and organisms that live in and around the vents. The amount of DNA sequenced during the trip was equivalent to the size of a small bacterial genome, which typically ranges from 2 million to 5 million base pairs.

The microbes, tubeworms and other vent dwellers are of critical interest to industry because these organisms may yield a range of new products and applications, from new pharmaceuticals to heat-stable, pressure-resistant enzymes for food processing, hazardous waste cleanup and other uses.

Under the direction of UD marine biologist Craig Cary, the team made daily dives aboard the Alvin, coupled with round-the-clock laboratory analysis on the Atlantis. Two scientists from Amersham Biosciences' Production Sequencing Group in Sunnyvale, Calif., were on board, using the company's MegaBACE™ 1000 DNA Analysis System and TempliPhi™ DNA Sequencing Template Amplification Kit. Researchers say these technologies played a key role in realizing the ability to carry out the project in its natural environment, as soon as samples were collected by the sub and brought aboard ship.

"We are excited to carry out this new phase of the Extreme deep-sea research, which takes the work we've done in previous years to the next level," Cary says. "The research we did in the most recent expedition will allow us to better understand the amazing ecosystem that exists in these vents and how these organisms, which thrive under some of the harshest conditions on Earth, interact with each other."

The research expedition took place from Oct. 15 to Nov. 1 in the Pacific Ocean along the Mid-Ocean Ridge, which is 1,200 miles off the coast of Costa Rica. Scientists studied the Pompeii worm (Alvinella pompejana), vent crabs, bacteria and other life that inhabit deep- sea hydrothermal vents to find out how these organisms can thrive in an environment that reaches temperatures of 750 degrees Fahrenheit.

More than 13,000 students at 180 schools around the world used computer technology to participate in Extreme 2001. The expedition was broadcast via the Internet, and students had the opportunity to log onto the web site, [www.ocean.udel.edu/extreme2001], and interact electronically with researchers. A sampling of their questions, and the scientists' answers, is available on the web site.

"This work was not possible even a year ago. It really is due to MegaBACE and the use of TempliPhi that we are able to accomplish this," Robert A. Feldman, production sequencing and collaborations manager for Amersham Biosciences, says of the DNA experiments. "The technology that we are successfully bringing to these deep-sea systems is creating the new field of marine genomics. These efforts will be seen as groundbreaking for future studies on environmental, ecological and evolutionary biology."

Extreme 2001 was sponsored by UD's College of Marine Studies and Sea Grant College Program, with financial support from the National Science Foundation.

Amersham Biosciences is a world leader in developing and providing integrated systems and solutions for disease research and drug development and manufacture. Its systems are used to uncover the function of genes and proteins, for the discovery and development of drugs and for the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals. The company's customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and research and academic institutions.

-Tracey Bryant and Marcy Saack