Termite Intestine Microbes Star In Award-Profitable Microscope Video

Nikon today announced the winners of its annual Small World in Motion competition, and the winning video offers an in-depth look at the microscopic creatures that help termites digest wood.

Still from Fabian Weston’s video about microfauna in a termite intestine, which won first place in the yearbook … [+] Nikon Small World in Motion competition 2021.

Fabian Weston

Fabian Weston of Pennant Hills, New South Wales, Australia created the winning video because he wanted to show people the amazing microbiome of termites. “There is a significant gap in our understanding about these termite symbionts and how this unique evolutionary relationship with its host evolved, ”Weston told Nikon.

Unlike most animals, termites can digest wood. That makes her a terrible houseguest, but an interesting subject to study. As researchers first discovered in the 19th century, termites don’t act alone when they destroy your furniture, they get help from protists who live in your intestines.

Protists are a group of microscopic organisms that have nothing to do with bacteria, animals, or fungi. They are their own diverse collection of tiny organisms, usually made up of just a single cell. Some of them, like trichonympha, are especially good at converting cellulose into sugars and smaller molecules.

But helping termites isn’t the only role protists play. Other types of protists support coral reefs, for example. “Protists, largely unknown to the general Public, in fact, are the most abundant creatures on the planet, ”says Weston.

Despite their abundance, Weston believes protists could use a little more attention. “There is a significant gap in our understanding about these termite symbionts and how this unique evolutionary relationship with its host has evolved, So it’s worth exploring and showcasing, ”he says. And that’s what inspired him to create his award-winning video.

As proof that you don’t always need the latest technology to create stunning video, Weston used a microscope from the 1970s. But to get a good picture of the protists, he spent several months figuring out how best to keep them alive while depicting them. “I’ve tried many methods, even making my own saline solution. They are very sensitive to oxygen, so I had to remove as much gas from the solution as possible, “Weston explained to Nikon, adding that” it was very difficult and I had to work quickly. The video you see is the result of months of trial and error, a lot of research and perseverance. “

The hard work has paid off, and Weston’s up-close look at the hidden life of the termite microbiome impressed the competition jury, which included science communicators such as New York Public Radio health and science editor Nsikan Akpan and Hank Green, founder of Science YouTube channels SciShow and Crash Course.

Second place in the competition went to a time-lapse fluorescence microscopy video by Stephanie Hachey and Christopher Hughes showing the formation and metastasis of a tumor.

This was the 11th year Nikon organized the Small World in Motion competition. They also hold a microphotography competition for still images taken with a microscope, and the winners of that competition will be announced in September.