ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology during our centenary year, but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Anna Cressman is an author on ‘ Impacts and mechanisms of CO2 narcosis in bumble bees: narcosis depends on dose, caste and mating status and is not induced by anoxia’, published in JEB. Anna is a graduate student in the lab of Etya Amsalem at Pennsylvania State University, USA, investigating the physiology and behavior of insects exposed to CO2 to induce anesthesia.
Anna Cressman
Describe your scientific journey and your current research focus
I always enjoyed science as a subject in school. I was introduced to some amazing megafauna on a trip to Alaska in high school, organized by one of the most influential science teachers I had when I was younger. That trip set me on a path to study wildlife biology in undergrad, but in my junior year, one of my professors introduced me to the magnificent bumble bee while working in Grand Teton National Park. That set my sights on graduate school in my current lab working with bumble bees.
How would you explain the main finding of your paper to a member of the public?
Carbon dioxide (100% CO2) is a main anesthetic in entomology used to ease handling of insects during specific experiment procedures; however, it can cause many behavioral and physiological changes. It is unknown how CO2 may be causing these changes, but since this treatment is 100% CO2, the lack of oxygen, also known as anoxia, might trigger these effects as well. Specifically, in bumble bee queens, there is a shift to reproduction after CO2 treatment that has been well documented. Using the common eastern bumble bee as our model organism, we can predict the outcome of CO2 treatment on different reproductive variables and compare them to another anoxic treatment, such as 100% nitrogen. We have found that CO2 causes these shifts directly, rather than it being due to the lack of oxygen, in the common eastern bumble bee. With this information, we can further our research to focus at a cellular level, which could help identify the molecular mechanisms of CO2’s effect on the central nervous system and how those impacts translate into the physiological and behavioral shifts we see in insects.
What are the potential implications of this finding for your field of research?
My study could potentially improve colony rearing in commercial companies. From my study and previous studies from this lab, we show that CO2 causes a reproductive shift in queen bumble bees. Using this method, cold storage-mimicked diapause can be bypassed, which could avoid the bottleneck of survival we see after cold storage.
Which part of this research project was the most rewarding/challenging?
Working with live animals is no easy feat. I think the most challenging part of this experience was the amount of time and patience it took to complete, but because of that, it was very rewarding in the end, especially for a publication to come out of all the hard work.
If you had unlimited funding, what question in your research field would you most like to address?
I would like to look at plant–bee interactions along altitudinal gradients in a wide range of national parks to see how the composition of those species is changing along with climate change.
Inactivated ovaries of Bombus impatiens workers. Workers and queens both have four ovarioles per ovary.
What changes do you think could improve the lives of early-career researchers, and what would make you want to continue in a research career?
I would highly encourage undergraduate research opportunities to incoming students. This would give early-career researchers a head start and give them time to learn new methods that their peers may never have experienced. Additionally, I think having an advisor who encourages work–life balance would really drive me to continue a research career. I believe it is imperative to work with your advisor to create projects that answer research questions you are passionate about.
What's next for you?
The dream is to move out to the Mountain West and continue working in a wide range of labs, getting the opportunity to work with different species, large and small!
Anna Cressman’s contact details: Pennsylvania State University, 202 LSB, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
E-mail: [email protected]
