Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Missouri is home to one-half million acres of wetlands, including the backwaters of the mighty Mississippi River. Here, biologist Arpita Bose and her team collect wild microbes from wetlands soils. Back in her laboratory, Bose is interested in finding ways to replace petrochemicals using the power of microbes to make fuels. She has developed a microbial system that can generate a carbon-neutral fuel alternative. Now she is working to scale up her process with help from the Biotechnology and Life Sciences Advising Group. Bose wants more people to recognize the importance of wetlands and the microbes that help sustain them. Ecologist Frank Nelson from the Missouri Department of Conservation collects and shares wetlands soil samples with Bose and biologist Joshua Blodgett, who is looking for rare actinomycetes from Missouri soils. The scientists recognize that wetlands play a critical role in storing carbon and otherwise stabilizing environmental conditions for future generations. Our once-plentiful wetland ecosystems may yet offer new and undiscovered climate solutions. Read more: https://source.wustl.edu/2022/04/into-the-wild/
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Missouri is home to one-half million acres of wetlands, including the backwaters of the mighty Mississippi River. Here, biologist Arpita Bose and her team collect wild microbes from wetlands soils. Back in her laboratory, Bose is interested in finding ways to replace petrochemicals using the power of microbes to make fuels. She has developed a microbial system that can generate a carbon-neutral fuel alternative. Now she is working to scale up her process with help from the Biotechnology and Life Sciences Advising Group. Bose wants more people to recognize the importance of wetlands and the microbes that help sustain them. Ecologist Frank Nelson from the Missouri Department of Conservation collects and shares wetlands soil samples with Bose and biologist Joshua Blodgett, who is looking for rare actinomycetes from Missouri soils. The scientists recognize that wetlands play a critical role in storing carbon and otherwise stabilizing environmental conditions for future generations. Our once-plentiful wetland ecosystems may yet offer new and undiscovered climate solutions. Read more: https://source.wustl.edu/2022/04/into-the-wild/
→Subscribe: bit.ly/WashUSubscribe
About Washington University in St. Louis:
Washington University is a leader in research, scholarship and patient care. Through our world-class faculty, students, physicians, staff, alumni and friends, WashU brings us closer to the knowledge that matters and the stories that inspire us to change the world.
Get more from Washington University:
Official site: https://wustl.edu
The Source: https://source.wustl.edu
Facebook: facebook.com/wustl
Instagram: instagram.com/wustl_official/?hl=en










