Project:

What makes my water Green? DNA Barcoding of Algae and Bacteria from aquatic environments in Queens, New York

Students:

Geidily Beaton, Kathleen Guerrero

Institution:

Benjamin Cordozo HS, Queens

Mentors:

Mangala Tawde

Abstract:

Our main question was what made our water green? To test for the answer we DNA barcoded algae and bacteria from aquatic environments in Queens, New York. Algae and Bacteria are the key players in Nature’s ecosystem. We decided to identify some of the algae growing in our neighborhoods. We were also curious about the bacteria that are associated with these algae. We used standard DNA extraction and sequencing methods. Our results were inconclusive since the amplification of algal ribosomal DNA did not work. Even though we were unable to identify the algae specimens, we did find many different types of bacteria which are associated with algae in these aquatic environments.

Poster:

Team samples: