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Flores Vzquez Michael Rubin Biology Department Honors Program BRIC Program 4/28/13 Metagenomics Analyses of Tropical Microbial Communities of Puerto Rico: Abstract The purpose of these experiments is to identify the organisms that compose the different microbial communities in a variety of soil samples from tropical ecosystems of Puerto Rico. This analysis will be possible by using a metagenomics approach that focuses on combining different methods such as molecular, genetic and bioinformatics tools. As part of the methods, small subunit ribosomal RNA based sequences analysis techniques will be used to determine and further compare the richness and evenness of the microbial communities composition from different sampled ecosystems of Puerto Rico. As a metagenomics study, the research is conducted in the following way: DNA is extracted directly from all the microbes living in a particular environment, which in this case is a soil sample. We will get a mixture of DNA from the sample that can be cloned and analyzed. After the extraction and purification, the use of bioinformatics tools can allow us to determine partial genomic sequences of the microbes found in that environment. The sequenced metagenome can then be studied in several ways, based on analyzing the nucleotide sequence and determining the protein structures and functions encoded by these genes and thus determine the taxonomic groups contained in the environmental samples. During fall semester of 2012, the main goal was to get familiarized with the topic and laboratory techniques required for this project. In order to accomplish that, metagenomic DNA was isolated from several soil samples. We will need to

optimize the techniques used. During spring semester of 2013, we will be working with control samples and with the improvement of our methods. References 1. Fierer, N. Breitbart, M. Nulton, J. Salamon, P. Lozupone, C. Jones, R. Robeson, M. Edwards, R. Felts, B. Rayhawk, S. Knight, R. Rohwer, F. Jackson, R. Metagenomic and Small-Subunit rRNA Analyses Reveal the Genetic Diversity of Bacteria, Archaea, Fungi, and Viruses in Soil. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Vol. 73. No. 21. P. 7059- 7066. Nov. 2007. 2. Sanders, E.R. and J.H. Miller. I, Microbiologist. A discovery based course in microbial ecology and molecular evolution. ASM Press, Washington, D.C. 2010.