Project:

Bioindicator Fungal DNA: Comparing Environment Quality in Black Rock and Central Park

Students:

Nichelle White, Xinran Ma, Sahana Crawford

School:

The Spence School, Manhattan

Mentors:

Aruna Chavali

Abstract:

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of environmental factors on genetic variance in fungi. The fungi analyzed in this experiment were collected from Black Rock Forest and Central Park. Fungi were determined as the subject of research for this study because they function as bioindicators, organisms that are particularly sensitive to environmental changes and that indicate their environment's health. Following DNA extraction, DNA sequencing will be utilized to reveal information about the relationship between fungi and the environment’s pollution. This study will provide insight and understanding into how environmental factors such as air and soil quality can affect the DNA of fungi.

Poster:

Team samples: