The IA DNA Club continues to do important work and research under the leadership of Mr. Bob Kuhn. Congratulations to these students for their dedication to scientific research.
Here’s an update on the publication of last year’s work and current projects:
Two projects from last year are in the middle of manuscript writing for submission to the Journal of Emerging Investigators:
· The protective effects of honeybee B. apis bacteria on fungi in the honeybee hive environment. (Giselle Guye, Jacob Liu, and Anusha Kanagaraj)
· The feminizing effects of the reproductive parasite Wolbachia on A. vulgare pillbugs. (Jay Lothe, Lakshana Ramanan, and Saanvi Prashad)
Current Projects in Various States of Experimentation:
1. Plant metagenomics through DNA analysis of pollen from Innovation Academy and Rucker Farm hives. This team has already collected and extracted DNA from 4 months of pollen from both locations, submitted their samples for metagenomic sequencing, and is currently preparing a report of the results for stakeholders including IA Foundation, City of Alpharetta and Rucker Farm, Metro Atlanta and Georgia Beekeepers associations and the Entomological Society of America (as part of grant finding). Students: Tristan Julian, Natalie Tan, Eileen Hernandez, Krishna Chaugule, Pareeshay Syed, and Nynee Padala
2. Honeybee foraging as tracked through RFID systems. This team is holding until the weather warms up and using this time to refine bee tagging procedures. They are also streamlining their data analysis by teaming with IT students. Students: Katia Kochengina, Anuj Nagula, Cayden Walsh, and Vanshika Singh.
3. Tracking reproductive disruptors in Island vs mainland A. vulgare pillbugs. This team has currently extracted DNA from over 30 pillbugs and begun the process of assaying for 3 different genes, two of those being reproductive disruptors. They are hoping to see if biogeographical isolation on islands has any effect on the proportion of these disruptors. Students: Samreen Bhatia, Janice Kim, and Jin Han.
4. Measuring the effects of male mating age on cytoplasmic incompatibility reproductive parasitism. This team is attempting to use qPCR to measure the gene expression of Wolbachia in Nasonia parasitic wasps as they are reproductively parasitized by the bacterium Wolbachia. Students have set up mating experiments and are counting offspring ratios. They soon will attempt our first qPCR trials which will be very difficult and exciting. Students: Jaanki Patel, Himangi Ghildyal, Risha Khanna, and Ayushi Kulkarni.
5. Screening new and old composted farm soils for tetracycline resistance. This team is doing over 60 DNA preps (most ever) to identify/compare the presence of tetracycline bacteria in new and old composted soil at Rucker Farm. Students include: Owen Carroll, Iris Liu, Chloe Lee, Lillian Yan, Hanna Zhu, and Nadia Yellepedi.
6. Discovering new bacteriophages that infect the host Mycobacteria smegmatis. This team is continuing their search for new bacteriophages and have found 4 more candidates. They are in the process of isolating and purifying them, so they can be images and submitted to the University of Pittsburgh phage library. They will also attempt to extract DNA for genomic analysis. Students: Timi Akinyele, Nidhi Gadekar, Megan Roka, and Emily Song.
7. Metabarcoding comparison of gut protists between west coast dampwood termites and Innovation Academy campus termites. These students are collaborating with University of Arizona protozoology students to compare wood digesting gut protists in termites. Currently our students have collected termites, extracted DNA, sent and received their metabarcoding data, performed abdomen squashes to take videos of living protists and are not creating assemblage graphs for comparison between species. Students: Bella Gee and Nasif Mohammed
8. Human influenced microclimate effects on ant biodiversity. These students are examining how rock wall structures at Rucker farm affect ant biodiversity as climate changes throughout the year. They have collected ants and are using DNA barcoding to identify them. They will be sampling more and taking under rock temperatures during the year. Students: Anthony Lee, Sathvik Mutoopuri, and Dhanvin Yajaman.
9. Examining expression levels of cyanide producing genes in white clover. These students are performing color assays for cyanide emissions from collected and cultivated white clover. They hope to use qPCR to screen for expression levels of genes related to cyanide production. Ambitious. Students: Sophie Choe, Amelia Morrison, Diya Phadke, and Vitchae Han.
10. Short Term Evolution and Metabolism Project. These students are examining the emergence of random mutations that lead to antibiotic resistance and correlating this with metabolic changes. They are starting their project Monday and will do an unbroken 12-day culture and sample protocol using disk assay and Ecoplate metabolic screening. It will be a wild ride. These bold students include: Reema Mistry, Shukun Shah, Vanshika Singh, and Sridhruti Narayanan