Analysing the DNA of our Museum

 

The Microverse is a Citizens’ Science project run by the Natural History Museum in London with the help of Real World Science partners at natural history museums across Britain; one of these is Wollaton Hall here in Nottingham.

 

Citizens’ Science links ordinary people with research scientists; not that members of Illuminate are in the least ordinary!

 

The scientist involved in this particular project is Dr. Anne Jungblut, a microbial biodiversity researcher from the Natural History Museum. You can see information about the project with here

Anne studies microbes across the world, and is interested in finding out which micro organisms live in the urban environment. Anne would like to compare different variables, such as building material, building age and exposure to pollution, to find out which factors affect species diversity.

 

Each of the 250 sample sites across the country are sampled in three areas by swabbing. The swabs are then sent to London for DNA analysis. The Microverse is using a new technique called next generation or high throughput DNA sequencing; this sequences millions of genomes at the same time. The process is faster and cheaper than previous methods and it also enables the sequencing of samples with many different species all mixed together. At the Natural History Museum an Illumina MiSeq sequencer is used; this contains a microchip which can be loaded with up to 96 separate samples at a time, with hundreds of thousands of DNA molecules. A single run of this machine takes 72 hours and costs around £1,000. More information here.

 

The “Pimms in Paradise” celebration for volunteers on Wednesday 3^rd June in the tropically themed (that night) Camellia House in Wollaton Hall was a perfect opportunity to engage members of Illuminate and volunteers from the wider Nottingham City Museums and Galleries voluntary programme with the sampling activity. It was also an opportunity to drink Pimms and rum punch and eat some delicious Caribbean food!

 

 

 

 

We chose three sample sites: Two from the rear of the main building constructed in 1588 - A lion’s head made of Ancaster stone and an owl motif set into a lead drain pipe; and a third which was a glass panel in the door of the Camellia House, added to the building in 1823.

It was vital that the samples were not contaminated so there was a great deal of fiddling about with sterile cotton wool swabs, tubes of sterile water, small tubes with DNA preservative, scissors, antibacterial hand gel, fine marker pens, plastic bags and disposable gloves (unfortunately even the large gloves weren’t big enough for Callum!) In each group there were Building Swabbers, Sample Collectors and Data Recorders; each with their own jobs including the difficult process of cutting each swab from its stick and dropping it into the DNA preservative tube without touching the sample. This is us in action!

 

 

Each site was swabbed 10 times and the samples have now been sent to the Natural History Museum for analysis. More news to come when the DNA sequencing has been carried out…

 

Thank you to all who helped – you were a fantastic team!

 

Sue Mallender, Real World Science Officer, Nottingham City Museums and Galleries