The BYU Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology hosted its annual agar art competition on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
Robert Black, the lab administrator for the Microbiology and Molecular Biology department, has been running this event for nearly a decade. The event’s theme for this year was: "What brings you joy?"
This theme was taken directly from the American Society for Microbiology’s own Agar Art contest. Black shared he felt the theme was very fitting given the messages from this October’s General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The winners of the competition were awarded monetary prizes and would have their art submitted to the American Society for Microbiology’s Agar Art competition.
Participants were encouraged to "paint" with bacteria on circular dishes filled with agar, a food material commonly used in research to feed bacteria being studied by scientists.
There were two kinds of agar for participants to choose from: glow-in-the-dark or colored.
Each colored bacteria was genetically engineered to produce a different color of pigment when it ate a specific sugar called arabinose that was placed on the agar. Because it takes two days for the color to appear on the agar plates, the participants had to be very aware of where they were painting each color on the dishes.
Unfortunately, this year the colored plates did not turn out as well as previous years. Black shared he had never seen this happen before. There was a distinct lack of pigment even after the usual two-day time period had passed. Waiting much longer than this, Black explained, would lead the bacteria to overgrow, making the art no longer distinct.
Compared to the colored art, the glow in the dark bacteria requires a slightly different environment. The salt content in these dishes is higher than that in the colored art trays. These bacteria create a bioluminescent pigment that would glow in the dark like certain types of jellyfish. This type only took one day for the bacteria to produce enough pigment. The bioluminescence that the bacteria produced is not very strong, but in a dark room, it is vibrant.
Once participants had completed their art pieces, the agar dishes were stored in Black’s lab until the images were easy to see. Black took pictures of each dish and sent the pictures to each participant.
Although the bacteria used is non-toxic, it is still very easy for other bacteria to grow on the agar, so the dishes were disposed of for safety.
Lindy Loutzenhiser, an art major, created an art piece of herself and her dad fishing, facing each other. She shared that she was the only girl in her family with four boys, but none of her brothers would go fishing with her dad.
“I loved it because that time, all we did was talk about stories about him and life,” Loutzenhiser said.
Amy and Brandon Bown, husband and wife, attended the event together. Amy Bown created a composite of two of their wedding photos in front of the temple, and Brandon Bown drew several small drawings about interests that the couple share.
“I wanted to incorporate hugs since it’s one of the best forms of love,” Lynette Juarez, an event attendee, said.
Juarez was working on a drawing of her and the Savior embracing each other.
“I was just thinking of that moment when you get to embrace the Lord, and you could feel it all, and I’m guessing it’s going to be the most joy,” Juarez said.