An award is made to Calvin College to acquire a multi-functional instrument capable of precise, accurate and cost-effective detection and quantification of single DNA molecules to identify and characterize biological function of microorganisms living in complex communities and to link the identity of these microorgansms together with their function. Linking microbial identity with function is essential in order to understand how each microbe contributes to the health of its host animal or to ecosystem services (such as water filtration) for humans. The technology allows for rapid data collection of samples without the need for time-consuming and difficult isolation of these microorganisms from their respective communities. Specifically, this project will (i) determine gene function of specific bacteria from water treatment biofiltration systems, contributing knowledge of how pharmaceuticals impact microbial populations critical to effective water treatment, (ii) be used for extensive bio-monitoring and microbial source-tracking of local impaired watersheds, (iii) determine the role of single-cell protists in oxygen consumption in the economically and ecologically important termite gut, and (iv) characterize bacteria and bacteria viruses to determine whether the viruses stabilize or disrupt essential symbiotic bacterial communities in animal hosts.
The broader impacts of this project include advancement of numerous collaborative research projects between undergraduate students and faculty, enhancement of undergraduate research in the classroom, and recruitment of underrepresented groups and women to STEM disciplines, through participation in research. Calvin's science programs are built on the principle that scientific concepts are best learned through performing experimental science. For undergraduates, this instrument will provide unprecedented access to a high-throughput DNA technology, enriching student research activities and investigative skills in introductory and upper-level courses as well as one-on-one with research mentors from the biology and engineering departments. In addition, two multi-institutional community partnerships will gain the ability to do large-scale monitoring of bio-contaminants in local watersheds. Societal benefits of these projects may lead to improvements of water treatment system designs, cleaner and safer streams and lakes, and new insights into the symbiotic microbial communities critical to animal and human health.
