Urban Barcode Project Team The Moldables
Program:
Urban Barcode Project
Year:
2018-19
Research Topic:
Wildlife & health
Taxonomic Group Studied:
Fungi

Project:

Mold Identification
Students:
Larosh Shaikh, Kelly Kang
School:
Stuyvesant High School, Manhattan
Mentors:
Jessica Quenzer

Abstract:

The goal of the experiment is to identify mold found in a school building as well as mold deliberately cultured on bread left in different areas of that building. The found mold will then be compared to the bread-cultured mold. Barcoding should determine if, overall, the mold is the same throughout the building, or different types of mold are growing throughout the building. The mold will be sought out from within the different areas of the building. The DNA sequences will be used to identify the molds, and compare them with molds grown on bread at those locations. To approach this, we would use the same type of bread in the basement of the school, the cafeteria, a laboratory and the library. The sequences will also be compared to those of mold found on laboratory pillbugs. Whilst, previously dead pill bugs are available, we hope to cultivate mold on a newly dead pill bug and also compare that to the old pillbugs and the mold spores on the bread.

Poster:

Team samples: