Kamber Lovill
North Carolina State University
Research Mentor: Jodi Young
Project: Growth and RubisCO Primer Design at Different Temperatures in Chemolithoautotrophic Bacteria
For my CICOES internship, I looked into RubisCO expression in proteobacteria. The species T. artica and T. frisia have more than one gene for RubisCO – which is abnormal but present in some proteobacteria. Using thiosulfate-amended artificial seawater, I grew both species of proteobacteria under varying conditions and developed growth curves using R. After developing growth curves, I designed primers for each RubisCO gene and conducted a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Using gel electrophoresis, I confirmed that my primers worked. This research aims to determine how the proteobacteria are expressing RubisCO under different conditions. If the results suggest that RubisCO is cold-adapted, it could give us an idea of autotrophic life on other planets. This research is part of a larger project at UW.
Project Introduction
Research Poster
