Location
Weber State University
Start Date
5-8-2017 12:00 AM
End Date
5-8-2017 12:00 AM
Description
Biological materials surviving in modern halite (salt) on Earth may point to a method for detection of potential or former life in salt deposits on Mars. This project attempts to find an efficient method extracting cells and DNA from modern halite crystals to gain more insight into efficient method of extracting DNA from ancient salt. Our method considers the limitations of Mars Rover techniques in terms of reagents and simplicity. Halite was collected form the north shore of Great Salt Lake, Utah. Through direct experimentation, we designed a filtration system to isolate DNA from salt samples and refined this process to provide the highest yields of clean DNA. To determine quantities of DNA, we utilized the dye, pico-green, which is detectable by fluorimetry. Methods for the best yield and detection will be presented as well as design that adapts this work to remote techniques.
Included in
Extracting DNA From Salt: Using PicoGreen To Explore Detection Limits
Weber State University
Biological materials surviving in modern halite (salt) on Earth may point to a method for detection of potential or former life in salt deposits on Mars. This project attempts to find an efficient method extracting cells and DNA from modern halite crystals to gain more insight into efficient method of extracting DNA from ancient salt. Our method considers the limitations of Mars Rover techniques in terms of reagents and simplicity. Halite was collected form the north shore of Great Salt Lake, Utah. Through direct experimentation, we designed a filtration system to isolate DNA from salt samples and refined this process to provide the highest yields of clean DNA. To determine quantities of DNA, we utilized the dye, pico-green, which is detectable by fluorimetry. Methods for the best yield and detection will be presented as well as design that adapts this work to remote techniques.