Little Fire Ants Bioinformatics
The research experiment originally started off as part of the UF CURE program, however after the program, I along with several other students remained and continued to work on the project.
Spring 2023
Dr. DeGennaro, Dr. Lucky, Dr. Auletta
Department of Entomology
Research Focus
It is known that invasive species causes damage and pose threats to functioning ecosystems and the Little Fire Ant is no different. The LFA is known to decrease the diversity of other ant populations while also being classified as an agricultural pest. Our research seeks to analyze the LFA closely to help combat its invasive effects. More specifically, we are interested in sequencing the mitochondrial DNA of the LFA from five different colonies in Florida to determine whether the LFA’s ability to adapt to cooler environments has a genetic basis, this is done by comparing genetics samples from LFAs collected in northern Florida (one region near Orlando) vs Southern Florida (4 regions). This research can help us recognize that even within certain species, management tactics may need to change based on geographic location or climate to diminish invasive species populations in the future.
The results of this study indicate that there is a clear difference in the mitochondrial genomes of our samples.
Regions from which samples were gathered
Responsibilities
My responsibilities entailed using HiPerGator to conduct RNA analysis on different genomic sequences that were prepared for me. This marked my first experience with bioinformatics. After the course ended, me and several students continued analysis using HiPerGator, but also participated in RNA sequencing.
Below is a Poster that was made to showcase some of the findings from this project. The poster was presented to the CURE class.
