Going on a Microbial Safari: Identifying Microbes and Examining Their Functional Ability

Interns

Lars Baschy - Biochemistry and Microbiology

Brittany Castillo Samayoa - Chemistry

Madison Salinas - Biological Sciences

Emily Zaragoza Wazny - Biological Sciences

Project Description

Our goal is to introduce students to the field of microbial ecology by having them learn how microbes are affected by their environment and vice versa. Students will have the ability to make this project their own by selecting an unidentified microbial genome of their choice from an online database, figuring out the potential taxonomy of that organism by reconstructing its evolutionary history, and then figuring out what it is capable of doing in the environment by examining the function of its genes.We hope to show students the diversity of single-celled life on earth and give them the broad tools to explore this diversity on their own.This will be great for students interested in microbiology, ecology, or bioinformatics.