Project Advisor(s) (Students Only)
Dr. Dara Wegman-Geedey
Presentation Type (All Applicants)
Poster Presentation
Disciplines (All Applicants)
Education
Description, Abstract, or Artist's Statement
Microbial physiology is often studied by observing pure cultures of isolated organisms grown in a lab setting. This approach is not realistic when trying to understand how a community of bacteria, which includes a variety of bacterial species, is functioning while coexisting in a specific ecosystem.
By using BioLOG EcoPlates, the metabolic functioning of a microbial community in response to 31 different carbon sources may be assessed in just one plate. Each well in an EcoPlate contains a single common carbon source and a tetrazolium dye that will turn purple in color if any microbe in the sample is able to metabolize that carbon source. The intensity of the purple color in a well will increase over time in proportion to how much metabolic activity occurred. If water samples taken from the same ecosystem sites at different times are used to inoculate EcoPlates, we can determine if microbial community function has changed over time and use these findings, along with other variables like water chemistry, nitrogen uptake, coliform counts, and temperature and weather patterns, to more completely understand how a freshwater ecosystem is functioning.
This pilot study was performed to standardize our sampling, data collection, and data analysis methods by using samples from a local aquatic ecosystem (e.g., the Augustana Slough). Baseline data were also collected for two watersheds in Davenport, IA which will continue to be evaluated this summer for signs of urban stream syndrome in conjunction with an ongoing project through the Augustana Upper Mississippi Center.
Augustana Digital Commons Citation
Phan, Kim and Murillo, Madalyn. "Standardization of Methods for Characterizing the Physiological Profiles of Aquatic Microbial Communities using EcoPlates" (2019). Celebration of Learning.
https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/celebrationoflearning/2019/posters/24
Standardization of Methods for Characterizing the Physiological Profiles of Aquatic Microbial Communities using EcoPlates
Microbial physiology is often studied by observing pure cultures of isolated organisms grown in a lab setting. This approach is not realistic when trying to understand how a community of bacteria, which includes a variety of bacterial species, is functioning while coexisting in a specific ecosystem.
By using BioLOG EcoPlates, the metabolic functioning of a microbial community in response to 31 different carbon sources may be assessed in just one plate. Each well in an EcoPlate contains a single common carbon source and a tetrazolium dye that will turn purple in color if any microbe in the sample is able to metabolize that carbon source. The intensity of the purple color in a well will increase over time in proportion to how much metabolic activity occurred. If water samples taken from the same ecosystem sites at different times are used to inoculate EcoPlates, we can determine if microbial community function has changed over time and use these findings, along with other variables like water chemistry, nitrogen uptake, coliform counts, and temperature and weather patterns, to more completely understand how a freshwater ecosystem is functioning.
This pilot study was performed to standardize our sampling, data collection, and data analysis methods by using samples from a local aquatic ecosystem (e.g., the Augustana Slough). Baseline data were also collected for two watersheds in Davenport, IA which will continue to be evaluated this summer for signs of urban stream syndrome in conjunction with an ongoing project through the Augustana Upper Mississippi Center.