Class
Article
Department
Biology
Faculty Mentor
Anna Doloman, Charles Miller
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Abstract
Many methods for the production of methane are being developed in response to the growing energy crisis. One such method is the digestion of wastewater algae in a UASB (Up-Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket) reactor. In this reactor, algae grown in wastewater treatment facilities can be digested by alga-lytic bacteria into its carbon rich substituents and later used by methanogenic archaebacteria to produce methane.
The objective of this project is to design detection systems that employ specific DNA primers that will precisely target two bacterial groups: alga-lytic and archaeal bacteria. If successful, these systems will allow us to identify the bacteria in environmental samples, such as sludge from the UASB, and determine the relative amounts of microorganisms present. DNA primers for methanogenic bacteria detection have been successfully designed in previous experiments and will be used as a control. Design of specific DNA primers for archaeal bacteria was not successful and therefore is the focus of this project. In addition, the design of alga-lytic bacteria targeting primers has not yet been attempted and is a novel secondary objective.
Start Date
4-14-2016 10:30 AM
End Date
4-14-2016 11:45 AM
Included in
Development of Archaeal and Algalytic Bacteria Detection Systems
Many methods for the production of methane are being developed in response to the growing energy crisis. One such method is the digestion of wastewater algae in a UASB (Up-Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket) reactor. In this reactor, algae grown in wastewater treatment facilities can be digested by alga-lytic bacteria into its carbon rich substituents and later used by methanogenic archaebacteria to produce methane.
The objective of this project is to design detection systems that employ specific DNA primers that will precisely target two bacterial groups: alga-lytic and archaeal bacteria. If successful, these systems will allow us to identify the bacteria in environmental samples, such as sludge from the UASB, and determine the relative amounts of microorganisms present. DNA primers for methanogenic bacteria detection have been successfully designed in previous experiments and will be used as a control. Design of specific DNA primers for archaeal bacteria was not successful and therefore is the focus of this project. In addition, the design of alga-lytic bacteria targeting primers has not yet been attempted and is a novel secondary objective.