Scientist hired

New team member on board inaugurates beginning of WP6!  PhD candidate Georgia Tarifa was selected to set up protocols for DNA extractions and PCR amplifications, aiming to unravel microbial responses / adaptations to thermal stress and acidification. The idea is to massively sequence ribosomal gene fragments (‘barcodes’) characteristic of the symbiotic microbial communities of studied animals. According to WP leader Anastasia Gioti, the task is not that straightforward for fungi, and she is eager to test an alternative: MinION sequencing of a long fragment spanning almost the entire ribosomal gene operon (pictured below) instead of the standard ITS barcode.