OGDEN -- Weber State University's Amanda Truong returned to class this week after a transcontinental summer adventure that began with analyzing brine flies from the Great Salt Lake.
Truong, 21 and an Ogden resident, was one of 10 students invited from around the world to show her work at the annual meeting of the Society of Molecular Biology and Evolution.
Truong presented a poster with findings from hundreds of hours of research she conducted over three years of collecting brine flies and examining them in the DNA laboratory at Weber State. More than 1,000 scientists and students attended.
"I saw oral presentations from other students and professors, and it was really inspiring to me," Truong said. "It made me want to continue on my research, and to do even more."
Truong, a zoology student, spent a week in Kyoto, Japan, after winning the honor and scholarship. She was nominated by WSU zoology professor Jonathan Clark. Truong and Clark are investigating how brine flies might have adapted to survive in the harsh environment of the Great Salt Lake with its high salt concentrations.
The brine flies carry bacteria known as Wolbachia that have been shown in previous studies to help their hosts survive, although the exact process is still being researched. Wolbachia are common in many insects, but the bacteria have not been reported in brine flies. The bacteria are unusual in that they do not just live in the digestive tract of the brine flies; instead, they exist inside the cells and are passed along to female offspring.
"I found that brine flies do have the Wolbachia, which is present in about 60 percent of insect species," Truong said. "It expands the knowledge about Wolbachia and where it is found. Not a lot is known about brine flies."
The flies help keep the Great Salt Lake clear of growth, such as algae, that would otherwise overtake the lake and deplete it of oxygen. Oxygen depletion could kill the lake's brine shrimp population. The flies also provide significant sustenance for migratory birds that feed at the lake.
The Division of Natural Resources estimates the flies have a positive economic impact of $100 million per year, the approximate price to build and operate a water treatment facility that could perform the work the flies are currently doing.
"The flies are a critical component in sustaining the health of the lake," Clark said, "Anything we can learn about how they are able to survive there is useful. The research has both biological and economic importance."
Truong enjoys lab work.
"In order to study DNA, I have to make multiple copies of the genes -- billions and billions of copies -- just so I can see it," she said. "Because DNA is microscopic, I can't see the progression until the very end of the process. Even though I have to wait several hours, I like the suspense; it's kind of like a surprise at the end."
She hopes to continue to medical school and be a researcher, a practicing doctor and a surgeon, Truong said.
"I have a lot of school ahead," she added, with a laugh.
Born in England, Truong moved to Ogden at age 10. Her family ancestry is Chinese, she said, but her grandparents took on a Vietnamese name when they moved to that country. She enjoyed a family visit last year to Vietnam and Cambodia, but had not been to Japan, which she enjoyed.
"I loved the Japanese culture. The people there are so respectful, and very clean, and the food was good."
Truong joked that she would never look at the brine flies she hated as a child in quite the same way.
"We used to visit the lake, and when I looked at the water, I asked, 'Why are there so many flies? They are annoying.' Now I look at the flies and think, 'They are my research. They have an important purpose.' I am excited to share what I have learned about them."
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