Type of Presentation
Poster
Type of Project
Class Project
Project Description
Climate change is currently affecting the Earth and will only increase with time1. A change to the environment means that wildlife will need to adapt. Adaptation occurs when an organism changes physiologically or otherwise to permit continued growth in the environment in which it resides. Scientists do not completely understand adaptation mechanisms. Psychromonas aquimarinais a novel bacterium, with little known. This bacteria will first be characterized and studied before conducting temperature studies. Psychromonas aquimarina is a psychrophile, a bacterium able to survive in colder regions where most bacteria would not. P. aquimarinais an ideal bacterium to study because climate change is affecting the poles two times the rate that it is affecting elsewhere 1. This means colder regions are experiencing harsher effects. The study of adaptation in cold tolerant organisms can give better insight to the mechanisms of thermotolerance.
Hypothesis: Psychromonas aquimarinawill be able to adapt to an increase in temperature due to heat shock proteins.
2018 3rd Place: The Growth and Characterization of Psychromonas aquimarina, a New Model Organism for Climate Change
Climate change is currently affecting the Earth and will only increase with time1. A change to the environment means that wildlife will need to adapt. Adaptation occurs when an organism changes physiologically or otherwise to permit continued growth in the environment in which it resides. Scientists do not completely understand adaptation mechanisms. Psychromonas aquimarinais a novel bacterium, with little known. This bacteria will first be characterized and studied before conducting temperature studies. Psychromonas aquimarina is a psychrophile, a bacterium able to survive in colder regions where most bacteria would not. P. aquimarinais an ideal bacterium to study because climate change is affecting the poles two times the rate that it is affecting elsewhere 1. This means colder regions are experiencing harsher effects. The study of adaptation in cold tolerant organisms can give better insight to the mechanisms of thermotolerance.
Hypothesis: Psychromonas aquimarinawill be able to adapt to an increase in temperature due to heat shock proteins.