Project:

Comprehensive Analysis of Lepidoptera biodiversity using CO1 Markers From Farmingdale State Teaching Gardens

Students:

Dereck Mejia, Mirella Myron

School:

Long Beach High School, Nassau

Mentors:

Kristen Conklin

Abstract:

This study will investigate the DNA of Lepidoptera captured in malaise traps at Farmingdale State College Teaching Gardens with the goal of quantifying biodiversity of the captured Lepidoptera. The first step is collecting the specimens, which was completed thanks to Dr. Carly Tribull who used malaise traps to capture the specimens. The next step is to take high-quality photos of vital parts of each specimen such as the head, wings, belly, abdomen, back, thorax, and sides of the Lepidoptera. The third step is to isolate the DNA of the specimens. The captured specimens will undergo DNA barcoding using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene, a mitochondrial marker widely recognized for species identification across various taxa, including Diptera (Ren, 2018). Next is to amplify the DNA of the Lepidoptera. After doing that, the team must analyze the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) products. Lastly, results will be gathered and results will be analyzed using bioinformatic and iNatur

Team samples:

See all samples for project