TCUP SGR: Salish Kootenai College Life Sciences Hg(II) Methylating Microbiota and Methyl-Hg(II) Concentrations in Flathead Lake

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A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's indigenous students. Expanding the research capacity at these institutions expands the opportunities for students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be locally relevant, and encourages a faculty community to look beyond the traditional classroom for intellectual and professional growth. This project aligns directly with that goal, and moreover may prove to be a model for similar engagement at other small community colleges.The project aims to identify microbiota and methyl-Hg(II) concentrations in Flathead Lake to map the environmental impacts climate change may be incurring on the Flathead reservation and in the wider Flathead valley in Montana. Elemental mercury (Hg) is deposited into the atmosphere primarily from sources including coal-burning and forest fires. Atmospheric Hg(II) accumulates in large water bodies, such as Flathead Lake on the Flathead reservation. Hg(II) in the lakebed soil sediments is subject to methylation by methylating microbiota, such as the methanogens sp. Once methylated, Hg(II) bioaccumulates/biomagnifies in the environment increasing with the size and phylum of animals reaching, often, toxic levels in apex predators and humans. Preliminary work by undergraduate students at the Salish Kootenai College has identified methanogen sp. in the soil-bed samples from two locations in the lower Flathead Lake and methyl-Hg(II) in the water. Salish Kootenai College will sample Flathead Lake for Hg(II)-methylating microbiota in the lakebed soil and for concentrations of methyl-Hg(II) in the water. Experimental procedures will include RNA isolation and sequencing to identify the local microbe population and to measure the concentration of methyl-Hg(II) in the water at those microbe sites. Further sampling will aim to provide a solid statistical basis for climate change reference as it will impact the Flathead valley where climate change will result in higher Hg(II) deposition in the lake and promote microbial growth for Hg(II) methylation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.