There is an obvious visual metaphor here reflected in th title. These are examples though  of “Wet Wood”, a colouless slime that exudes from cracks in a tree’s bark and which blackens  upon contact with air. This phenomenon is caused by a type of microbe called a methanogen, that grows in the absence of air and which produces amongst other things methane. If the internal pressure of the gas is high enough, it can be ignited to produce a jet of flame. Another signature of a sublime and invisible world.

Inspired by Ballard’s “The Crystal World”, Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle”  and Hiorn’s “Seizure” this is a developmental stage  of a new  project to make a form of “ice” that doesn’t melt,  so that I might  juxtapose or blend the seasons. This is a small frozen woodland pool,  that someone might  simply stumble upon, and which  has a summer flower apparently trapped in thick and  dense ice.  The temperature is 20 C and thus, to the observer,  the ice is a beguiling  and crystaline paradox.

The jewel-like Vogesella indigofera. Isolated from a pond that had been used as a dump for highly toxic waste

Serratia marcescens (Red) and Bacillus mycoides (White) interacting. Serratia appears to produce an anitibiotic that protects it from the invading Bacillus strain

Serratia marcescens, close-up

The plastic/kitsch properties of Rhodococcus

Chromobacterium violaceum

The black hole at the centre is MRSA

Bacillus mycoides, a common soil bacterium

The almost cosmic form of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

I’ve just set up C-MOULD,  a unique collection and knowledge base, for microorganisms that have application within the arts. All of the microorganism featured in this blog, and many others are part of the collection. C-MOULD is now seeking an enthusiastic and committed co-curator.  Unfortunately we cannot pay you at the moment but you will be encouraged to seek funding for projects that use this unique collection, you will receive training, and will have complete access to this truly unique strain collection. Please apply or express an interest by commenting on this post.

The images above are of just some of the strains in the collection.

A bacterium called Zoe. Isolated from the finger tips of a school child of the same name during a science/art visit. In the lab it revealed an unexpected and potentially valuable property. It produces a poweful antifungal activity. Now dormant at – 80 C and part of  C-MOULD.

A brief non-microbiological and rather dangerous excursion!

A Daisy plucked from the garden and immersed in concentrated sulphuric acid. The acid has extracted its defining chemical signature and left behind a frail and now lifeless skeleton of carbon. The flower has succumbed to a cold pyrolysis but what made the daisy and gave it its identity is still present, having been conserved by chemical and physical laws. In a sense then, the flower is still there but its content has been reordered and distributed, but now where does the Daisy begin and end?

The mycelial form of the bioluminescent fungus Panellus stipticus

I’ve just set up C-MOULD,  a unique collection and knowledge base, for microorganisms that have application within the arts. All of the microorganism featured in this blog, the beguiling bioluminescent fungus Panellus stipticus (pictured here), and many others are part of the collection. C-MOULD is now seeking an enthusiastic and committed co-curator.  Unfortunately we cannot pay you at the moment but you will be encouraged to seek funding for projects that use this unique collection, you will receive training, and will have complete access to this truly unique strain collection. Please apply or express an interest by commenting on this post.

Imaged in daylight. From left to right: no added carbon source, 1% glucose, and 1% glycerol. Top P.asymbiotica, Bottom P. luminescens

Imaged in darkness. From left to right: no added carbon source, 1% glucose, and 1% glycerol. Top P.asymbiotica, Bottom P. luminescens

I’m optimizing conditions that incease light output in the bioluminescent bacteria, Photorhabdus luminescens and Photorhabdus asymbiotica. Interesting that conditions that promote light production in P. luminescens diminish production of the orange pigment.

A fine selection of bacteria and fungi, isolated from the hands of year four school children, their class room assistants, and teacher!

Optimized bioluminescence in Photorhabdus asymbiotica (top) and Photorhabdus luminescencs (bottom)

37 C, no added carbon source, 1% glucose, 1% glycerol

30 C, no added carbon source, 1% glucose, 1% glycerol

25 C, no added carbon source, 1% glucose, 1% glycerol

20 C, no added carbon source, 1% glucose, 1% glycerol

Before art there is always science. These are experiments to optimize light output in the bioluminescent bacteria Photorahbdus asymbiotica and Photorhabdus luminescens  by changing the incubation temperature, and by adding various carbon sources to the media. The effect of temperature is dramatic. Incubation at  37 C, also human body temperature, results in the best light production. Also the colonies are brightest without any additional carbon source and thus the carbon sources used here at least repress light output.  Unlike the bioluminescent marine bacteria such as Photobacterium phosphoreum, the light produced by the Photorhabdus species here is stable at higher temperatures and does not require the addition of high concentrations of salt and offers alternative artistic applications.

Some experiments with the mycelial form of  bioluminescent fungus Panellus stipticus to increase light production. Reminds me of the cosmological, macrocosm/microcosm….