UMaine microorganisms study worthy

Relatively few people experience the wonder of observing microorganisms, yet all experience their effects directly or indirectly. For example, some microbes are used in treating wastes and pollution. Others have been “trained” to perform feats of biochemistry that contribute to food, chemical and pharmaceutical production. Yet others spoil food, produce environmental toxins, cause diseases, or have been converted to weapons of terror.

The vast majority of microbes work unseen, however, managing with myriad biochemical pathways the flows of nutrients and energy in the planet’s many ecosystems. They account for the bulk of Earth’s living biomass, and encompass more diversity than all macroorganisms combined. They colonize essentially every habitable nook and cranny, far exceeding with their reach that of humans and all animals and plants.

There are even more microbial cells in and on humans than there are human cells! Earth truly remains a planet of microorganisms, just as it was early in its history, adorned only at later stages of development by creatures of the macroscopic kind.

At the University of Maine, microorganisms and their biochemistry and molecular biology have been a subject of research and instruction for many decades. Some of the first Maine faculty to study microorganisms made significant advances in the profession, and set the stage for important future research and training programs. Hitchner Hall, which currently houses most of the university’s microbiologists and biochemists, has been named in honor of one of those pioneers, E. Reeve Hitchner.

Generations of students obtaining degrees in Microbiology, Biochemistry or Molecular Biology at the University of Maine have made notable contributions to the State, New England and the Nation. The alumni include: a past president of the world’s largest life sciences organization, the American Society for Microbiology; a member of the National Academy of Sciences; two recipients of the MacArthur Foundation “genius” awards; entrepreneurs who have started or played significant roles in biotechnology companies; pioneers in the diagnosis and control of fish diseases; nurses, physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and other health science workers; professionals in state and federal agencies; professionals in various pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies; teachers and scientists in secondary and higher education.

Maine’s microbiology, biochemistry and molecular biology faculty have included winners of the university’s Presidential Creative Achievement Award, the university’s highest teaching awards, and the statewide Professor of the Year award. In addition to training many outstanding and accomplished students, the faculty has conducted research that has benefited Maine’s aquaculture and forest products industries, and contributed significantly to understanding the diverse roles microorganisms play in the oceans, terrestrial systems and the functioning of the planet as a whole. The faculty is recognized nationally and internationally and regularly generates significant external funds for research and education from highly competitive and prestigious sources.

Through its Staples Lecture and Seminar Series in Biochemistry, the faculty has brought outstanding and innovative scientists to present inspiring lectures to students and the public. The speakers have included Nobel laureates, members of the National Academy of Sciences and recipients of many major prizes and awards in biology. These speakers have enriched instructional programs for undergraduate and graduate students, and contributed to the intellectual richness of the university.

Why then has the state’s only degree program in microbiology and the University of Maine System’s only degree in biochemistry been driven to the brink of collapse in recent years by administrative neglect and misunderstanding? While the university tries to follow the lure of biomedical research dollars, it starves core research and instructional programs that are necessary for biomedical research in the first place. The quality and capacity of core programs that have trained numerous students that have served Maine and the nation well have been eroded to the extent that it may not be possible to train future students.

Microbiology as a discipline and the demand for microbiologists have been growing by leaps and bounds in the United States and abroad, yet the last decade and last few years in particular have seen a substantial decrease in the number of microbiologists and biochemists at the University of Maine. The current administration expresses no concern about the losses and proposes no plan to reverse the trend.

Like institutions of higher learning across the nation, the University of Maine faces very serious budget problems. Tough choices must be made. Expenses must be reduced. Everyone must do a little more with less. Yet it is counterproductive to destroy through neglect, deliberate or otherwise, programs that have been demonstrably successful and effective, and that harbor the potential for greater future successes with only modest investments. The university’s current strategy for improving biological sciences is not likely to bring significant new funding, prestige or students to Maine. Instead, it is likely to inflict long-lasting damage to the university and the state it serves.

Rectifying the problems that have been created is not so difficult. Trends can be reversed. What is required first, however, is a willingness by the university’s upper administration to develop a commonly accepted vision for the future. This can only be accomplished through dialogue that has not occurred thus far, at least meaningfully. Second, the university must make concrete plans to invest in the faculty, and to work with the UMS office, the Legislature and the governor to create a clear understanding of the importance of microbiology and biochemistry as basic life sciences disciplines.

Simple, timely steps can prevent further erosion, and begin restoring the state’s unique and critical programs. Further neglect and delay will only hasten the destruction of decades of hard work by dedicated students and faculty, and ensure that Maine’s citizens and students will have to look elsewhere for their education and for help in commercializing, controlling and understanding Earth’s seemingly endless reservoir of microorganisms.

Gary M. King is C.S. Darling Professor of Oceanography and professor of microbiology at the University of Maine.