Research fellow: Daniel Wolf
Hometown: Westfield, NJ
Major: Marine Biology
School: University of Rhode Island
Faculty mentor: Christopher Lane
Project: The Bermuda Seaweed Project

For the average beachgoer, algae clumps are nothing but a nuisance. However, a close look at the genetic details reveals there is much more than meets the eye.

Daniel Wolf, a rising senior, spent one recent morning in the University of Rhode Island lab of Christopher Lane, associate professor, algal genome evolution and reduction, conducting the procedure known as PCR, polymerase chain reaction, to analyze algae DNA from the Champia family.

Wolf explains that the purpose is twofold: “Some of this is just for the knowledge, to find out if there are new species we don’t know about. The other part is climate change — some of the species are warmer climate algae, which we are finding in Rhode Island waters.”

In the lab, Wolf grinds down the algae and extracts the DNA, which he then runs through a machine, heating and cooling it to bind the DNA and replicate it. Then, he purifies the sample and submits it for sequencing to the Rhode Island Genomics and Sequencing Center at URI, a Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR core facility.

Wolf then uses the information to build a phylogenetic tree that details the relationships of the Champia algae based on similarities and differences.

As part of his RI NSF EPSCoR Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) experience, Wolf has gone on dives to collect algae samples in Ocean State. In previous years, the Lane lab has collected warm water algae samples during dives in Bermuda, St. Croix and Key West.

Wolf says his true interest lies in biofuels, and algae provide a good source. After graduation, he hopes to work in the field in the private sector.

The summer experience working with algae and in the lab, extracting DNA, has proven to be both interesting and valuable time spent, adds Wolf: “Being able to extract DNA is a very practical and applicable skill.”

Story and photos by Amy Dunkle