University of Minnesota Scientists Find New Life in the Great Lakes

When the R/V Blue Heron, a Great Lakes research vessel, exited Lake Erie and pulled into the Great Lakes Shipyard in Cleveland for repairs on a noisy propeller shaft, no one anticipated the detour would lead to discovery. But oozing from the rudder shaft was a curious, tarlike substance that definitely wasn’t supposed to be there.

When Doug Ricketts, marine superintendent at the Large Lakes Observatory (LLO), later brought a cup of the mysterious goop to researchers at the University of Minnesota–Duluth, it soon became evident that the substance wasn’t just strange, but also alive. More specifically, it was home to previously unknown microorganisms that found the warm, oxygen-free environment of the rudder shaft a good spot to make a home.

The research vessel Blue Heron, on which the tar-like “ShipGoo001” was discovered. Rual Lee

So what exactly is this substance? According to biologist Cody Sheik, a researcher with UMD and LLO, it has been dubbed “ShipGoo001.”

“We’re still trying to figure out exactly what it is comprised of, but it is mainly carbon,” Sheik told me. “We think that most of it is from the breakdown of algae that gets sucked up into the rudder housing and then dies.”

The combination of the unique properties of this substance and the specific conditions found in the rudder shaft (described as a “a semi-warm, stable environment with no oxygen”) make it an ideal spot for microorganisms to populate and slowly eat away at it. Through DNA sequencing and comparisons with global databases, the team was able to confirm that the microbes in the sample were an entirely new species.

To genre fans, this might sound a bit like the part of a sci-fi movie when the characters start to realize they’re dealing with something alien. But according to Sheik, what this really demonstrates is just how much we still don’t know about the Great Lakes.

“Our knowledge of the microbes living in the Great Lakes has increased in recent years,” he explained, “but we still have a long way to go, especially in winter, when we can’t get ships out into the often ice-covered waters!”

While ShipGoo001 seems to be a wholly unique organism, it does bear some similarities to a few other genomes around the world—specifically, organisms that fall under an undescribed order of Archaea that are primarily found in hydrocarbon-associated environments.

Sheik said the next step is to further analyze the organism and then begin drafting a new manuscript describing the ship-goo microbes. In doing this, he and his team hope to build some momentum in advancing discovery as it relates to organisms that might be thriving in built, human-made environments and find out, “what else is hiding in somewhat plain sight!”

While the work on ShipGoo001 has been fun and exciting for all the researchers and students involved, Sheik emphasized that while curiosity often drives this kind of discovery, none of this is possible without the appropriate resources at hand.

“Science is founded on curiosity and asking questions. Our curiosity about what this goop was is what drove us to ask questions and test them. Exploratory work like this is often where science makes interesting discoveries or finds new processes,” he said. “However, these types of experiments are in danger because of the current funding landscape. We already have to work on tight budgets and deadlines, and so … projects like these are dwindling across all US institutions.”