Presenters: Marissa Ohran ; Rollo Simmons ; Alyssa Tidwell ; PJ De La Vega
Authors: Marissa Ohran, Rollo Simmons, Alyssa Tidwell, PJ De La Vega, Braydon West, Geoffrey Zahn
Faculty Advisor: Geoffrey Zahn
Institution: Utah Valley University
Despite innumerable local habitat disruptions, few aquatic fungal surveys of Utah Lake have been conducted, and none in recent years. We aimed to fill this gap in knowledge to uncover what factors are needed to maintain a healthy microbiotic ecosystem. We chose twelve approximately evenly spaced sites around Utah Lake, where we collected samples of sediment and water. At each site, the water temperature and pH level were measured. Samples were returned to the lab, where we extracted genomic DNA. The ITS2 region of rDNA (a standard barcode for fungal taxonomy) was amplified and Illumina libraries were prepared for meta-amplicon screening of fungal taxa. The pH level and temperature at the site, along with other available data, collected via tangential research on the lake, will be used in comparative analyses of fungal community structure. We expect that the meta-amplicon survey of both water and sedimentary samples will give us a clear picture of the relative abundance of aquatic fungal species in Utah Lake. The resulting data will be run through a series of correlational analysis that will help us understand the factors that can keep our lake healthy. Our scientific goal for this study is to help water and land managers to make better-informed decisions regarding the ecology of this important water source.