Myrtle Rust Never Sleeps! - Playing drums to audio from Myrtle Rust DNA sequences

DNA carries genetic information for the development and function of all organism.
A DNA sequence is a long, continuous chain made up of only four chemical bases referred to as G, A, T, or C. They repeat in various defined patterns to make up a gene and other genetic elements. Rather than looking at a gene sequence by eye I have used audio analyses so that one can hear the gene sequence with your ears.
In this example I have sonified a region of the Myrtle Rust genome.
The process of gene expression from the Myrtle Rust genome has been simulated by a computer algorithm. This audio output is useful for DNA sequence analyses, however, in this example I have not thought to analyse the sequence but I play drums to the science audio.
The Myrtle Rust fungus is silently killing seedlings, saplings and established trees. Hundreds of Australian species in the Myrtaceae family are susceptible including bottlebrushes, eucalypts and tea trees with 16 species set to become extinct within a generation.
It is caused by the fungus Austropuccinia psidii, and was first detected in Australia in 2010. Myrtle rust causes yellow or orange pustules to appear on the leaves, stems, and flowers of infected plants. These pustules can lead to leaf loss, reduced growth and vigor, and, in severe cases, plant death.
This composition and performance was made by Mark Temple at Australian PlantBank whilst he was "Scientist/Musician in residence". This was during the "The Art and Science of Myrtle Rust" event held in February 2023.
The event was sponsored by a grant from The Australian Plant Biosecurity Science Foundation. Their support has been vital in making this project a reality and we are grateful for their belief in the importance of educating the public about the challenges and opportunities presented by this devastating disease caused by the Myrtle Rust fungus.
www.apbsf.org.au/
Australian Plant Bank specialises in research into the conservation of Australian native plant species including those that are highly susceptible to the fungal pathogen. Plant Bank is located at the Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan.
www.australian...
Additional funding was provided by The School of Science. the School specialises in Agriculture and Food Sciences, Biological Sciences, Chemical and Forensic Sciences, Environment and Ecology, Medical Science, Physics, and Zoological Science.
www.westernsyd...
This exhibition was organised by Mark Temple (Western) with the assistance of Michelle Moffit (Western) and Brett Sommerell (Royal Botanic Gardens).
For more information about this exhibition
please visit the exhibition companion website
myrtle-rust.com/
In this example I show how to work with the sonified audio as the basic of music creation - a powerful tool to engage people with the science and an interesting genre of creativity.
For an explanation of how the DNA sequence data is converted into audio for analyses see the related video - Making music from the sonification of Myrtle Rust DNA
• Making music from the ...