The past two weeks have been laboratory heavy. Which I love! My goal is to quantify the amount of cyanobacterial genes in the biocrust samples I have in order to develop a smart plan for sample analysis. If I know the number of cyanobacteria present at each step of a restoration process, then I can more easily say which step causes a significant decline. We can then zero-in on that step and focus our money and time on that part of the process. In order to quantify cyanobacterial genes, I am using qPCR with cyanobacteria-specific primers. In order to do that, I need to extract DNA from the soil, quantify the total DNA in each sample, and then do the qPCR. In the photos above, I show how the samples are homogenized (with mortar and pestle) and then extracted for DNA through many steps. I'm always shocked at how many tubes are required for these extractions (photo on the right). Here, I am extracting only 4 samples (in replicates of three) and it requires 6 tubes per sample and just as many pipette tips. Because of this large plastic waste, I am extremely careful to not mess up the extraction and I double check that every sample is worth the effort. I'm looking forward to a month from now when I can share this data with collaborators.
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AuthorSierra is a graduate student in the Barger Lab at CU Boulder studying microbial ecology for dryland restoration. Archives
August 2023
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