Field

The primary goal for the Field team was to identify or discover a halophilic microorganism that digests cellulose.

Each protocol conducted by the Field team produced successful results. The MGM 18% plate inoculations for all samples grew successfully, displaying prominent orange and pink colonies. (picture here) The colonies were put through a cellulose screen which consisted of a minimal media designed for halo-archaea with purified cellulose as the only carbon source. (refer to notebook) ]The team had successful amplification of the 16s rRNA regions of each of the archaeal samples so the samples were sent to the University of California, Berkeley for cleanup and sequencing. The BLAST results revealed that archaeal samples FS 4, FS 5A, and P5A-5 had a close relationship to the organism Haloferax gibbonsii. The sample FS 6 did not match with a complete genome, implying that this organism is a novel find.

Within the incoming Fall quarter, sample FS 6 will be sent off for full length sequencing, and the sequences will be ran through the BLAST database for sequence comparison again. In order to determine the identity of the samples FS 4, FS 5A, and P5A-5, primers will be designed. These primers will be used to identify the location of the glycoside hydrolase of Haloferax gibbonsii. These primers will then be incorporated into a PCR reaction for the archaeal organisms FS 4, FS 5A, and P5A-5. This process will confirm the identities of these archaeal organisms and further conclude this research. The glycoside hydrolase of Haloferax gibbonsii was identified through the NCBI BLAST database results and is an enzyme that participates in the degradation of biomasses such as cellulose 9.

Team members