Science usually involves a lot of waiting, and during my seventh week we were waiting for seedlings to grow to the correct the stage for analysis. Although, I did not let this time go to waste. There is another team working in the C4 division of IRRI, and I my supervisor, Efren, arranged for me to assist in their project. This team is focused on the structure in plants responsible for the exchange of water and gas in and out of cells, the stomata. I was tasked with counting continuous lines of stomata and counting individual stomata with a cell counter program.
We headed back to manila to see a city, established by the Spanish, from the 16th century. Intramuros was a beautiful historical district, and we spent hours wondering around taking it all in. I loved the shop they placed in remembrance of The Church of Our Lady of Lourdes. It was full of art and showcased several historical artifacts. I also loved the San Diego garden we went to last. An entire section of the garden was dedicated to adorable bonsai trees. There were also many green spaces were people could sit down and relax. I ended up taking a nap in the breeze in an elevated area, on top of the pseudo-wall closing it off.
One of the most memorable parts of this trip to Manila was our experience at a restaurant with all you can eat sushi. Naturally I took this as a challenge to eat as much sushi as was humanly possible. We found out after arriving at 8:30 pm that no additional sushi orders can be made after 9:00 pm. This didn’t scare anyone off from ordering as much sushi as we wanted in the first half hour. After making our first order between six people and scarfing down the first plate, we decided to order a staggering amount of sushi. The fact that we had to pay for any sushi left over in addition to our meal did not sway our bad decision. I am proud to say we ate every single sushi they placed on our table, but that is undoubtedly because they had the heart to cancel our last order after hearing our table cry out in pain. I think the sushi chefs were still impressed at the amount we ate, because they asked to take a picture with us after our meal.
A majority of my sixth week was spent analyzing the measurements taken the week prior. Previous experiments suggest that under the low CO2 stress we put the mutants under, they would produce florescence measurements similar to rice under stress. Sataria is naturally more resistant to low CO2 stress because of the way it sequesters the compound from the air and stores it for future use.
New seedlings were started in the previous week as well. We went through the process of stopping the dormancy period that all seeds go through before sprouting. unfortunately one of the mutants experienced contamination from a fungus.
We visited the Pagsanjan Falls on Sunday. Two skilled canoe operators rowed us through a long river past beautiful cliffs and small waterfalls. They used patches of rock in the river like a stone path and pulled our boat over them. Joey mentioned wanting to get out of the boat to help, but we were heavily advised to keep our hands and presumably the rest of our bodies inside the canoe at all times. At the end of the river there was a huge waterfall that we all went under on a bamboo raft. Thanks to Anoal’s waterproof phone, we were able to capture the whole experience. The rocky platform we walked onto before boarding the bamboo raft hosted a napping cat of mysterious origin, and we didn’t leave before giving him many pets.
We spent most of Saturday relaxing in the Pandin Lake near San Pablo City. I was so excited to show my visiting boyfriend, Joey, some of the beautiful destinations we see every weekend. Our bamboo raft was pulled through a network of ropes in the lake, and we dove into the fresh water. After getting back to shore and changing we thought the water actives were done for the day, but the rainy season had other ideas. Right after everyone was ready to start the journey back it promptly started pouring. As a lover of storms, I had no problem wading through massive puddles and getting absolutely soaked. After our phones were secured with the only person smart enough to bring an umbrella, my only worry was trying not to get lost while navigating back to a main road.
Most of my fourth week was spent analyzing the results from an experiment ran the previous week. Santeria seedlings were kept in the dark for 30 minutes to become dark adapted and then flashed with light by the huge machine pictured above to measure the florescence they give back out. This was another way to measure how much photosynthesis these mutants are doing. The test was repeated after the seedlings were kept in a low CO2 chamber for 48 hours.
The IRRI group met up with some Wesleyan interns staying closer to Manila. Our group of five split up and crammed into two different apartments, sharing beds provided by our generous hosts. Fortunately, our time in those tight spaces was mostly spent passing out. We were lucky enough to get a full tour of the night life in Makati on Friday and Saturday by my favorite IWU tour guide, Quentin.
The Filipino pride parade was scheduled for that weekend but we decided to stay away from the huge crowds and mind numbing traffic. Instead we spent the day at the Mall of Asia on Saturday. Even after hours wondering around we couldn’t scratch the surface of such an enormous place. Meghan and me found an entire ice skated rink after splitting up. I can only imagine what we could have found if we ventured into the other buildings.
We spent a lot of time during my second week analyzing 5 mutant Setaria lines. Without the correct introduction I would have believed that all of these plants shared the same genes. I can now recognize these different mutants on sight as one grows even bigger than the Setaria found in nature and another develops yellow bands on its leaves.
I have been using incredible technology here that measures photosynthesis in real time just by clamping onto a leaf. These machines even alter the leafs environment if necessary by increasing or decreasing the CO2 concentration in the clamps’ chamber.
I have also met some incredible experts that can cut a leaf to be a single cell thick. It is only then that a high powered microscope can capture the cell architecture and confirm that these plants still function using C4 photosynthesis.
Sunburns from Saturday didn’t stop any of us from hiking up Taal Mount on Sunday. A group of nine IWU students went to see the volcano inside of a lake inside of a mountain inside of a bigger lake. The views were not disappointing, although this was the hardest hike so far. The two weakest among us rode a horse to the top and back after hearing we were only half way up.
An organization on IRRI’s campus planned a short trip to Cagbalete Island for any staff member interested. We ate delicious food on the white sand beach before spending hours snorkeling in the Philippine Sea and relaxing on a nearby sandbar. Swimming with the fishes was a dream come true, and I am so grateful that I got to see the remaining coral that were healthy and colorful down below. Snorkeling was so worth the burn I got on my lower back, and luckily I never forgot to put sunscreen on my tattoos!
During my first week as an intern, I got introduced to a model system used to analyzing photosynthesis. This C4 grass, call Setaria, is being used to study the genetic bases of its capture, conversion, and storage of CO2 as a secondary compound. This process optimized photosynthesis and reduces water usage. Once we know what genes are responsible, transgenic rice crops could be used to feed the millions of people that eat rice daily. A shift from C3 to C4 photosynthesis in rice could increase yield while reducing a huge demand for water at the same time. My work started in a scalding green house were mutant and wild type Setaria is grown.
Once the plant starts to flower they are prepared for controlled crosses. Setaria is a great model organism because every pinnacle grows several florets that contain both anthers and a stigma, and is capable of making a seeds by itself. After emasculating a pinnacle the anthers are no long able to make pollen, and florets are marked for fertilization by a selected plant allowing controlled selection. This specific cross was between a treated mutant strain and wild type Setaria
Each emasculated pinnacle can be pollinated by simply hitting it with a few untreated pinnacles in the morning while they are creating pollen. A more direct method was also used, which was separating florets producing pollen and applying them to exposed stigmas on the emasculated plant.
Around this time plants are kept in a colder room filled with air at a high concentration of CO2. This helps the plant create as many seeds as possible.
Later in the week I was able to harvest a Setaria plant that was weeks older than the one used for crossing. This plant was done creating seeds, so each pinnacle was cut from the stem and stored for future planting and analysis.
I had an amazing Saturday starting at the Makling Botanic Gardens. Seeing all the beautiful unique flowers inspired me to start collecting pictures for drawing references later. I’ll never forget the amazing nature I’ve found in the Philippines.
After walking through the entire garden we were all hungry for more. With the help of our new Filippino friends Angela and Ivan we were able to ask for good hiking destination near by. They helped us navigate several jeepnees, buses like the one pictured above, and I couldn’t thank them enough for making the trip stress free. From the jeepnee we walked through a settlement full of happy families relaxing and singing karaoke outside. I loved seeing all the lovely houses and people greeting us.
A little boy guided us through a trail my running shoes were not prepared for. Luckily my knee only got a little scrape from climbing over the rocky terrain. The waterfall we ended up at, called Dampalit Falls, was absolutely breathtaking. We spent quite some time there taking in the view and relaxing before heading back on a long journey home. Of course we stopped in the city we passed by on the way home to get some important shopping done before absolutely crashing back into our IRRI dorm beds.
We entered the learning shed Friday morning to find out everything there is to know about the process of planting and growing rice. The experience was extremely interactive as we were able to prepare the land for planting, we each tried three different plows, hand planted seedlings, and dispersed rice seeds in mud nurseries. I loved getting muddy, and respect the hard work farmers put in every day so much more.
We got an early reminder that this trip is not just fun and games. A tour of several labs on the IRRI campus started with the Seed Health Unit and was followed by the Genotyping Services Labratory, Grain Quality and Nutrition Center, and Plant Growth Facility.
The Seed Health Unity made it very clear that good rice research starts with perfectly healthy seeds. There are so many things that contribute to that health, and it was amazing to be able to see them all up close through a microscope.
The Plant Growth Facility spans a huge amount of land both inside and out, following the rice from seedling to progeny produced and packaged for storage. We saw rice growing in fields, carefully marked to prevent mixing up the hundreds of projects that are happening at once. We even saw the growth chambers used for experiments that require altered levels of CO2, humidity, temperature, or light.
This floating restaurant was the perfect place to be introduced to Filipino food. Not only were the dishes delicious but the view while eating was spectacular. The beautiful outdoor venue was populated with statues at every turn and active fish in the pond. I would return to Kamayan Sa Palaisdaan any day.
The meal offered a lot of new and long forgotten foods. As a 3 year strong vegetarian coming to a country where meat is offered at every meal, I thought a lot about the reasons that made me choose that diet. I do have strong feelings about the meat industries’ impact on the environment, but unfortunately I would not consider myself an activist. Ultimately my lifestyle at home came from the availability of other options, and the fact that I prefer the taste and texture of none meat substitutes. Without that ease of access I’ve decided to be open minded during my stay, so that I can really experience every aspect of the culture. I’m happy to say the coconut fish was delicious, as well as the halohalo dessert that came after!
I got a delightful surprise boarding my first flight to Manila. I found that not only the tickets, but every seat and pillow, were adorned with the cute characters from Hello Kitty. The lay over in Taiwan was equally adorable, with an entire waiting room and shop decked out with charming characters and pink. As a fan of any outrageous gimmick, these things definitely helped to put me at ease on my first international flight.
My Trip To The Philippines 