Molecular Geomicrobiology Laboratory

In this course, students will be studying the biosynthesis of cyclic lipid biomarkers, molecules that are produced by modern microbes that can be preserved in rocks that are over a billion years old and which geologist use as molecular fossils. Students will be tasked with identifying potential biomarker lipid synthesis genes in environmental genomic databases, expressing those genes in a model bacterial expression system in the lab, and then analyzing the lipid products that are produced. The overall goal is for students to experience the scientific research process including generating hypotheses, testing these hypotheses in laboratory experiments, and communicating their results through a publication style paper. Prerequisites: BIO83 and CHEM 121 or permission of the instructor.