Centre PhD Student Zuba Ahmed (Queensland University of Technology) worked with urban Indigenous artist Paula Mellios to create a shirt showcasing the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana, commonly known as benth.
The design was inspired by Zuba’s research, where she works to identify which genes are responsible for successful anthocyanin production in the Australian native. Anthocyanins are pigments that are responsible for shades of red and blue in nature, this is reflected in the colours used in the design. Benth is a very important model plant used by researchers worldwide to study things such as plant-microbe interactions, synthetic biology and metabolic pathways – you can even use it to produce plant-based vaccines!
The shirt was created as part of Shirty Science, an initiative that works with scientists to create shirt designs that will spark conversation about their research. Shirts are available for purchase through the Shirty Science website. Shirty Science profits go to help organisations that are supporting diversity in STEM.
About Zuba:
Zuba’s research is in genetics and molecular biology, for her PhD project she works with Nicotiana Benthamiana, a plant indigenous to Australia located in Northern parts of Australia. It’s known for its many qualities such as protein localisation, interaction, or plantbased systems for protein expression and purification. Extensively used in laboratories round the world for metabolic engineering, plant-microbe interacting, RNAi, vaccine production and functional genomics. She is trying to uncover the genes responsible for successful anthocyanin biosynthesis. Anthocyanin’s are pigments that provide colours in red, purple, and blue plants, flowers, fruits, vegetables and cereals. She looks at the genetic differences between two types of Nicotiana Benthamiana plants.
About Paula:
Paula has created a visual assimilation of the plant in it’s lab experimental stages, highlighting its many qualities including vibrant illuminating tones seen through the bright greens and pink/purple tones in the background. The purple dot work in the background represents DNA stands due to the plants use in creating RNA vaccines because of the protein expression quality it possesses. The pink round asymmetrical shapes represent the plants background being Indigenous to Australia. These asymmetrical shapes and textured effects of purple and pink embody the earthy patterns found in nature. The use of the vibrant illuminated purple and pink tones allow the plants glow to stand out as it floats in a whimsical notion centralised in the artwork. The artwork is a depiction of science meets art a unified phenomenon that allows for unique imaginative exploration. As the famous Isaac Asimov said “There is an art to science, and science in art; the two are not enemies, but different aspects of the whole”.
