Novel bacteria taken from the Antarctic lake, specifically from Lake Fryxell is tested under a nutrient deficient stress with the purpose of learning about the diversity of microbial communities. The goal of the research is to observe the community structure under nutrient deficient conditions and how these conditions affect the original enrichment culture. The growth and physiology of these cultures are measured by the Fv/Fm, countess, and OD600 data throughout the project. These measurements will show a quantitative aspect on the number of microbes and how healthy the culture is. The enrichment cultures are grown in an L1 medium with 10% Nitrogen/Phosphorus levels. The DNA of the enrichment cultures are extracted and isolated for the purpose of sequencing specific genes within the genome. Next Generation Sequencing is used by using an Illumina MiSeq Desktop Sequencer to determine the eukaryal and bacterial diversity from the enrichment culture. In the 18S rRNA sequencing data, there is an abundance of Chlorophyceae, green algae found in freshwater ecosystems, under the family classification due to the family being phototrophic. The 16S rRNA data showed an abundance of Bacteroidia under the class classification, this is because Bacteroidia are able to adapt to the availability of nutrients in their habitats. This project gave an understanding of how novel bacteria react under a nutrient deficient environment and the different microbes that were most abundant in the microbial structure. This project gives an insight on the lab experience of microbial ecology and how lab research is conducted for this field.
Authors: Livie Smelcer and Yeseul Kwon
Faculty Advisor: Rachael Morgan-Kiss, Microbiology
You must be logged in to post a comment.