Comparison of Traditional and Molecular Techniques for Describing Fungi in Streams
Department
Biological Sciences
Major
Biological Sciences
Research Advisor
Niyogi, Dev
Advisor's Department
Biological Sciences
Funding Source
Biological Sciences
Abstract
The diversity of aquatic fungi on decomposing leaves from a small stream in the Ozarks was examined using three techniques. Aspen leaves were placed in the Audubon Stream just outside Rolla, Missouri, for several weeks to allow fungi to colonize the leaves. Leaf samples were taken after exposure, and fungal conidia were examined under the microscope. Fungal cultures from leaves were also grown on malt extract agar, which allowed for the visual identification of fungal taxa. These methods were compared to a new molecular method that involves DNA extraction from decomposing leaves and amplification with fungal-specific primers. Amplified DNA from the fungal community was separated on a denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) system, and the number of bands served as a measure of diversity from the leaf sample. The traditional and molecular techniques gave similar results, but the molecular methods revealed greater diversity during some sampling times.
Biography
Cory Cheatham is a junior in the Biological Sciences department at UMR.
Research Category
Natural Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Award
Natural Sciences poster session, First place
Presentation Date
12 Apr 2006, 1:00 pm
Comparison of Traditional and Molecular Techniques for Describing Fungi in Streams
The diversity of aquatic fungi on decomposing leaves from a small stream in the Ozarks was examined using three techniques. Aspen leaves were placed in the Audubon Stream just outside Rolla, Missouri, for several weeks to allow fungi to colonize the leaves. Leaf samples were taken after exposure, and fungal conidia were examined under the microscope. Fungal cultures from leaves were also grown on malt extract agar, which allowed for the visual identification of fungal taxa. These methods were compared to a new molecular method that involves DNA extraction from decomposing leaves and amplification with fungal-specific primers. Amplified DNA from the fungal community was separated on a denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) system, and the number of bands served as a measure of diversity from the leaf sample. The traditional and molecular techniques gave similar results, but the molecular methods revealed greater diversity during some sampling times.
