Zines to capture Microbe Sampling Adventures

How can we emphasize that microbe sampling is an exciting journey in itself? How might we share how sampling varies depending on the environment we’re sampling from, and the microbes we hope to find there? As we developed our protocol for growing microbes of place, we have been percolating ideas on how to discuss sampling methods in an accessible way.  We believe that small zines can be a useful and engaging introductory resource for those seeking to understand our project better including future workshop attendees. Our aim is to invite curiosity and interest for all steps of this project, including for the sampling that begins the journey of isolating strains. 

My initial sampling zine draft consisted of  8.5’ x 11” folded in half sheets that nested into each other. Danny suggested simplifying this to a small single sheet 8 fold zine which would be a more accessible and simpler resource tool to print. This led to some revisions and ultimately this  zine design of how to sample soil microbes. 

 

Our first sampling zine narrating the story of sampling soil around Redwood trees.

 

Folding instructions for the 1-page zine design

Designing to inspire curiosity 

The type of sampling adventure each zine centers on will be indicated by a specific color and via the text in the half circle on the cover, in this case, “soil” and brown as the cover color. The color coding of the half circle on the covers is for ease of use and to distinguish the different sampling focuses of each zine. We aim to include photos of our sampling process in the zine to connect readers to work that happened before a pigmented microbe in the palette has been isolated. For this first zine, Tim documented his sampling of soil at the base of Redwood trees at the beginning of his journey of trying to isolate Streptomyces filamentous bacteria of the family Actinomycetes. As he mentioned in a previous lab note, he has worked with these before and they can turn either a deep blue or red depending on the surrounding pH. One thing that I found interesting in Tim’s process photos was how the visuals highlighted some important protocol sampling details, such as defining the distance from tree trunk for taking coring soil samples, and holding the corer so that top of sampled soil falls off and the remaining soil sample is what is collected in the baggie. 

The final page of the zine contains QR codes to additional resources. One QR code will lead to a more detailed sampling protocol document for that specific sampling procedure, whether in soil, water, food, or air. 

 

The back cover invites the reader to engage further and perhaps create a sampling story of their own.

A second QR will link to a blank zine template so that people can envision and plan their own sampling adventure. Below is an example of the blank zine for people to document their own sampling adventures.

 

Blank zine template

By including microbe sampling zines at our future workshops and demos, we aim to spark interest in the process of sample collection and for the care of places collected from. We are inviting people to envision their own protocols and rituals of care for sampling by including a blank zine for participants to document their own journey. We imagine we will bring this BioArtBot project into different learning communities, some with deeper bioscience experience than others. These sampling zines can support those newer to the conversations, as well as serve to extend the conversations into home community spaces. 

Full Text of the Sampling Zine

As the text on the 8 panel single sheet zine is difficult to read with some parts upside down, I have added it here for ease of viewing:

A brief tale of Soil sampling around Redwood Trees

Overview: Soil is teeming with life and is host to more than half of life on Earth! Filamentous bacteria (S. coelicolor) lives among the roots of the coastal redwood tree and can turn either a deep blue or red depending on the surrounding pH. Here is Tim Dobbs’ sampling journey to collect soil from this tree's unique narrow band ecosystem and to isolate this microbe for our pigment journey.

Materials: Soil core sampling tool, gloves, zip baggie, water, isopropyl alcohol, cell phone camera, permanent marker for labeling

Care and Safety: Ask for permission to sample, Consider best way to respect places and organisms. Consider what might be the optimum time of day and time of year to sample. Note to be careful of Poison Oak that may be around you!

Procedure: 

1. At sampling site: Wearing gloves, both to reduce cross-contamination, I rinse the tool first with water, then with a little bit of isopropyl alcohol, then let it dry. This removes some of the organisms on the surface of the tool either from the previous sample or that accumulated during storage. 

2. I took 3 samples, at different distances from the trees, and at different depths.

3. I carefully let the soil at the top of the tool out onto the ground, since we’re interested specifically in the soil that came from the deepest part I sampled.

4. I placed the remaining soil core from the deepest sampling point into a ziploc bag and closed it.

5. In order to track the distance from the tree, I laid the sampler on the ground next to the sample location, and took a photo with both the sampler and the tree in frame. Then, I estimated the depth (based on the length of the sampler) and wrote the depth and distance on the sample bag with a permanent marker.

6. I’ve stored the soil in the fridge to minimize changes to the microbiome.