Stomach Soup: Using Genetics to Identify Organisms Consumed by White Marlin

Girasek, Quinn

Item

Stomach Soup: Using Genetics to Identify Organisms Consumed by White Marlin

Girasek, Quinn

Abstract

Grade Level: High School Biology 9-10. What is the White Marlin eating? Students will draw fish puzzle pieces from a bag and match the fish pieces to obtain a DNA sequence. Students will learn how to use bioinformatic tools (NCBI BLAST) to analyze these sequences and identify the species to which they belong. Students may then create and interpret phylogenetic trees based on the species they identified the White Marlin to have consumed. Focus: Students will use randomly selected genetic sequences to identify digested fish and invertebrates. Students will also learn how to use NCBI GenBank and BLAST, which are part of the National Library of Medicine and used in genetics research.