Urban Barcode Research Project Team Probioteam
Program:
Urban Barcode Research Project
Year:
2018-19
Research Topic:
Food fraud
Taxonomic Group Studied:

Project:

Barcoding the Billions of Bacteria in Probiotics
Students:
Michelle Chen, Yumna Elhassa
Institution:
Long Island University-Brooklyn, Brooklyn
Mentors:
JEANMAIRE MOLINA

Abstract:

Probiotics are dietary supplements containing live bacterial strains supposedly beneficial to humans. The probiotic market has been booming in recent years. Currently, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate most of these products. The lack of FDA regulation has led to some products not containing their declared species. This also presents an opportunity for students, like us, to study and validate the bacterial species included in such products. As part of the Urban Barcode Research Program (UBRP), which is an education initiative to increase scientific research among New York city youth, we will authenticate bacterial species in probiotic supplements sold in drug stores in New York City. We will use next-generation sequencing technology called metagenomic sequencing to identify, or barcode, bacterial species and determine their relative abundance in probiotic products.

Poster:

DNA Barcoding Poster
View team poster (PDF/PowerPoint)

Team samples: