Student Scholars & Faculty Mentors
Projects funded by our internal grants program. Search the table to find students or faculty mentors that share in your interests, and could help you achieve your goals in research, creative activity, or service.
Exploring species adaptation through genetic comparison of Arabidopsis lyrata populations growing on granitic and serpentine soils
Name: Farmer,
Advisor: Maja Klosinska
Department: BIOL
Award: Student Research Grant
Abstract: A short-lived perennial in the mustard family, Arabidopsis lyrata is often used in studies of plant ecology and evolution due to its high level of morphological and genetic polymorphism. A. lyrata can also grow in disturbed or disadvantaged habitats, such as on nutrient poor serpentine soils high in heavy metals. We aim to provide insight into local adaptation and evolution through examining genetic differences and similarities between A. lyrata populations growing in the same geographic area but in differing habitats, on granitic and serpentine soils in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Amplification through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of selected microsatellite loci (highly variable regions of the genome) and statistical analysis we will determine whether serpentine soil populations are genetically closer to each other, despite geographic distance, or they are the result of local adaptations of granitic soil populations.