Project:

Identification of Closely Related Drosophilids

Students:

Jay Huennekens, Mae O'Riley

Institution:

Lehman College,

Mentors:

Sebastian Rojas Villa

Abstract:

Drosophila melanogaster is a model organism for genetic research due to their small size, fast reproduction, and low cost. However the Drosophila genus includes many different species, making it necessary for scientists to accurately identify their specimens. Standard invertebrate primers for DNA barcoding have limited accuracy in identifying closely related drosophila, so this experiment seeks to identify drosophilids using morphological methods and DNA Barcoding techniques to find the most accurate method of identification. The morphological methods used will be the app Seek by iNaturalist, which uses photo recognition technology to make species identifications, and an anatomical guide for the identification of Drosophilids. The barcoding methods will use a general invertebrate primer as well as specific Drosophilid primers. We intend to find the strongest and most efficient form of drosophilid identification, so that scientists can more accurately differentiate the individual specie

Poster:

Team samples: