Submitted by Ian Wang on
Many organisms now exist in a habitat matrix composed of both natural and human-modified environments. This project seeks to understand the implications of these urban-wildland habitat matrices for population structure and genetic diversity. We will use genetic data and GIS tools to investigate spatial patterns of genetic variation and their relationship to different environments in amphibian and reptiles species from the greater Bay Area. These studies will have significant implications for our understanding of how human-modified environments impact upon natural populations and how these species persist under these conditions.
This project involves developing a set of microsatellite markers that can be used to assess population structure, gene flow, and genetic diversity in the target species. Students will perform DNA extractions from tissue samples, quantify the volume of DNA in these extractions, and standardize them for testing. They will then perform sequences of PCR using potential microsatellite primers to identify the optimal conditions for amplifying each microsatellite locus. Once the PCR conditions are identified, they will then test each locus on the extracted DNA samples by performing more PCR, genotyping the resulting products on a capillary electrophoresis instrument, and scoring the resulting chromatograms using standard software. These results will be used to identify the number of alleles present at each locus for the sample DNA set and the value of each locus for this project.
Coursework in a genetics class and some experience with genetic lab techniques (either through coursework or prior research experience).