Project:

The Effect of Different DNA Extraction Methods on Tarantula Molt Skin Sequence Accuracy After DNA Barcoding

Students:

Joao Velasquez, Brandon Ostroff, Matthew Mignella

School:

Lynbrook Senior High School, Nassau

Mentors:

Kathleen McAuley

Abstract:

Our project will compare two different DNA extraction types on their accuracy with DNA barcoding. We want to compare crushing and swabbing because crushing is more widely used for DNA collection than swabbing, but crushing is very destructive and invasive. Tarantulas are a good subject to test this because we can crush their molts and not kill any of them. We can also swab the molts and not have to get tarantulas into the lab. This research will be important because if swabbing is more effective than crushing, we can preserve the lives of organisms and disrupt ecosystems even less when doing research on organisms like insects. We cannot freely DNA barcode tarantulas because some species are endangered, and collecting the DNA often means harming or killing the organism. For a species already at risk, removing them from their population would bring them closer to extinction. A non-lethal method like swabbing will protect biodiversity and help us gain more information.

Team samples:

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