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SEP Field Notes ~ March 2008
DNA Barcoding Cryptic Invaders
Over the past century all of Southern California's and most of Central California’s native Bay Mussels (Mytilus trossulus) have been replaced by the European Blue Mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and no one noticed a thing (Geller, 1999).
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Because the two species appear so alike, one has to use DNA analysis to tell them apart. And because the mussels are so similar scientists hope to learn a lot about what it takes to make a successful invader. To help track the ongoing northward expansion of the invader, High School Biology Teachers and some Moss Landing graduate students have been working each summer with professors Henrik Kibak (CSUMB) and Simona Bartl (MLML) to sample the DNA of mussels from area waters. |
| The teachers purify the DNA, amplify specific genetic regions, and compare the new samples to existing ones in bioinformatic databases. In addition to documenting the gradual disappearance of the native mussels, the teachers have identified several instances of hybridization between the two species, something not previously known. Based on this ongoing research experience, the teachers prepare lessons and practice techniques with a summer contingent of RISE students with the ultimate goal of sharing these concepts with their own classrooms. |
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The project website can be accessed at http://www.marinebiotech.net
Geller, Jonathan B., Decline of a Native Mussel Masked by Sibling Species Invasion
Conservation Biology, Vol. 13, No. 3 (Jun., 1999), pp. 661-664. |
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