Menzies Art Gallery of Scientific Discovery
Burkholderia stagnalis
Year: 2022
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, digital image
This painting represents the scientific discovery of the novel bacterium, Burkholderia stagnalis, by researchers at Menzies School of Health Research.
In the middle B. stagnalis is growing on an agar plate. The shapes around the agar represent people of the scientific community involved in the discovery, with the three largest people representing the three Menzies researchers: Mark Mayo, Mirjam Kaestli, and Bart Currie. The orange dots surrounding the people is the colour for Menzies.
Spreading from either side of the agar plate is the knowledge passed on to the greater community. The painting background shows the rod shaped cells under a microscope, the pink colour for the negative Gram stain.
(Artwork owned by Menzies School of Health Research)
About the bacterium
Burkholderia stagnalis is related to the notorious pathogen, Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of the tropical disease Melioidosis. It can be found in soil and water and is particularly widespread throughout northern Australia and Southeast Asia. There are many species within the Burkholderia genus, some of which can be pathogenic to plants, animals, and immunocompromised people, and others have the potential to be used to promote plant growth or bioremediation.
During ongoing environmental surveys for B. pseudomallei in the Northern Territory, an entirely new species of the genus was found and named B. stagnalis after the Latin root word for stagnant water.