:: Student
Projects ::
Metabolism and population dynamics in monarch
butterflies by Nicole van Aken and Tim Bozarth
Students are investigating the DNA sequence in the
mitochondrial control region in monarch butterflies.
This is part of a larger project examining various issues
regarding metabolism and population dynamics in monarch
butterflies. There are many unanswered questions about
the local monarch population which overwinters on the
Central Coast, including the relationship between this
population and others in California as well as those
east of the Rocky Mountains. Mitochondrial DNA has been
used to answer questions about population structure
and relationships in a variety of other organisms. As
a first step, Nicole and Tim are using PCR to obtain
a section of the mitochondrial control region, and then
determining the DNA sequence of this region. They will
perform this analysis on a sample of the local butterflies
to determine how much sequence variation exists in this
population and identify specific haplotypes; future
students may then compare these sequences to those from
other monarch populations.
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