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Since the begining of its operations, the AMCC has been active in participating to programs launched by the Education Dept. To that effect, we have had REUs students for the past two years.
2003
Joann Mercedes, Miriam Delarosa, Hunter College
Mentor: Angelique Corthals, Division of Invertebrate Zoology
Identification of animal tissue samples using cytochrome b DNA sequences (Mitochondrial DNA)
The Ambrose Monell Collection, better known as the frozen tissue lab, houses many different types of animal tissues. The samples that have all their data recorded are stored in the permanent vats but sometimes the data is questionable. No one really has time to check these samples to see if they correspond with the information sent by the collectors.
Our project was centered around the taxonomical identification of tissues which were held temporarily at the AMCC following a freezer meltdown in one of the museum’s collections. After contacting the relevant researchers, it became clear that all that was left of the data associated to those tissues were a mere 4 pages of scribbled field notes and whatever was written hastily on the vials and containers.
The project was designed to verify the taxonomic identity of the tissues. Queries on GenBank helped us determine which region of the gene was to be sequenced and which tissue could potentially be selected. We chose to isolate and sequence cytochrome b of 13 tissues. The sequences were then compared to those registered in GenBank to positively identify the species.
The result of the sequencing verified some of the taxonomical identification. More importantly, the sequence obtained for one specimen determined its species, which was previously unknown.
This project has stressed the importance of having a sequencing protocol as part of the routine quality control of the specimens being accessioned at the AMCC.
2002
August 14th
Nathaniel Smilowitz
Nath hard at work
Triage of Damaged Samples in a Frozen Tissue Collection
A modern approach to issue preservation and archival in the museum community requires a commitment to frozen collections of genetic resources. Although some frozen tissue collections are stored in reliable liquid nitrogen freezers, most rare biological specimens are stored in less dependable electric freezers. In the event of a power outage or mechanical failure in a frozen tissue collection, a tissue triage protocol is necessary to determine which samples should be re-archived and refrozen. According to our study, reptilian blood, thigh, and cardiac tissue samples are still valuable after an extended thaw; these tissue types temporarily preserve total genomic DNA, even without archival storage at ultra-cold temperatures. Other tissue types - liver, kidney, and small intestine - do not contain high molecular weight DNA after incubation at room temperature. Therefore, such samples have little value in a genetic repository to document biodiversity.
Click here for Nat's Powerpoint Presentation
2001
August 15th
Brian Webster
Brian's legendary smile!
Cryopreservation: A Quantitative Study of the Ability of Several Preservation Methods to Stabilize Nucleic Acids
Application of the Comet Assay to Drosophila Adults, A Simple Quantitative Test For Genomic DNA Damage
An experimental study was undertaken to compare the quality of DNA isolated from live samples of Drosophila melanogaster to DNA isolated from samples cryogenically preserved using a number of different methods, including a variety of different cryoprotectants. These included 1.5M DMSO, 1.5M glycerol, 1.2M ethylene glycol, 100% ethanol and 70% ethanol, as well as "dry" freezing with no added cryoprotectant. A variety of different freezing and thawing protocols were also explored for samples frozen in each cryoprotectant. All samples in the study were assayed for nucleic acid quality using quantitative PCR amplification of an 800bp fragment of the mitochondrial COII gene region.
Click here for Brian's Powerpoint presentation
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