Project:

Using 16S metabarcoding with Oxford Nanopore to identify ant mandibular microbiomes and examine the link to ant diet

Students:

Ruiheng Pu, Yinuo Wang, Yinxin Yang

School:

Ulink College of SIP; Suzhou High School; BEIJING 21 CENTURY SCHOOL, Suzhou, China

Mentors:

Xinyue Wang

Abstract:

Ants (Formicidae) have evolved and diverged into 12,000 different species since they first appeared around the Jurassic period. Over time their preferences for food have also varied. While many ants have a varied diet, some feed on particular animals or plants. It is known that diet is closely linked to an organism’s microbiome. This is likely the case for ants, as well. In our study, we are going to examine the microbial diversity on the mandibles of different species of ants. We intend to examine the relationship between microbiome diversity and ant species’ recorded diet. We are going to use silica DNA extraction and analysis of the CO1 gene code region to confirm the species of ant. Then, the Qiagen Powersoil Pro kit will be used to extract bacterial DNA from the ants’ mandibular region. Oxford Nanopore Technologies will be used to sequence bacterial 16S libraries.

Poster:

Team samples: