The Harmer Lab is interested primarily in the practical application of Circadian Rhythms in plants as it relates to the agricultural industry. This internship required that I learn common lab techniques, PCR, electrophoresis, etc. in addition to constructing my own research project.
My project examined the plant parasite known as dodder, specifically whether or not the development of the structures by which it infests plants, called haustoria, are triggered definitively by some kind of signal located within host sap. I created a sealed environment with an agar growth medium through which to test this theory, including a cylindrical, hollowed agar 'stem' that would hold sap and enable dodder to mimic its infestation process. To remove as many unaccounted variables as possible, it was important that this environment be insulated from contaminates and easily reproducible.
Contamination proved difficult to mitigate but dodder did infest the agar stem, establishing a platform through which further research could be conducted. I was accepted to present my work at the Undergraduate Research Conference at UC Davis and delivered the results of my project at the conference on May 2nd.
