Week 5 - amplify and purify 88 total samples

This week we were finally able to isolate, amplify and purify 88 total samples to be hybridized.  This was a huge leap in progress because we can now spend the rest of the next five weeks hybridizing and analyzing microarray data.  Monday and Tuesday were the last days of isolation and PCR, so Wednesday we moved on to labeling 12 samples with Biotin to get them ready for the hybridization process.  These 12 samples included 6 Marine Archaea products and 6 SAR 11 products from Aug 2007 samples.  The entire process is pretty lengthy because there are many incubation steps, one actually lasting 3 hrs!  Thursday we managed to successfully hybridize all 12 samples and generate legible data through the Electrasense platform.  The craziest part was seeing my samples that I have worked with for 5 weeks basically just disappear! Even more crazy is the formidability of the DNA to withstand all the steps taken in order to get to hybridization.

Pictured below is an example of what a hybridized microarray chip looks like after being read by the toaster....well it kinda looks like a toaster (see next picture)

Pictured below is the Electrasense microarray platform (about the size of a typical toaster)

After we are able to generate some more microarray data this will enable us to make further analysis and begin to draw up a phylogenetic map of the areas we are dealing with. Pictured below are the sampling sites from the May 2009 cruise (also the same for the cruises in 2007 and 2008).