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The Lane College Science Club, ASBMB Student Chapter, engages in community outreach to serve students at Title I schools in Jackson, TN. The Lane College Science Club students visited Lincoln Elementary School during the fall 2023 semester to host a dynamic science activity involving 77 children, divided into two groups of students. Both groups were divided into three smaller groups, each assigned to one of the stations of intriguing experiments. The first station involved the creation of "Elephant Toothpaste" using a concoction of 3% hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, food coloring, and active yeast. The second station, the "Lava Lamp" station used blend of water, vegetable oil, food coloring, and Alka Seltzer®. Lastly, the "Hand Washing" station involved a blue light source and Glo Germ powder. This experiment included applying glow powder to the students' hands, followed by a hand washing exercise. When they returned, the effectiveness of their hand washing was shown using the blue light. After the rotations and engaging experiments, each group was asked their favorite station. These experiments were not just fun; it also helped them learn about science and how to keep their hands clean. This work is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation EES 2011938. 

The microbiome is a group of microorganisms living in a particular environment. Microorganisms living in ponds play an important role in the health and balance of these ecosystems. This study aimed to understand how microorganisms vary in different local ponds using metagenomics. Water samples were collected from local ponds around Jackson, Tennessee, to be examined for the presence of microorganisms. DNA was extracted using a standard ethanol precipitation protocol followed by clean-up with a ZymoBIOMICS genomic DNA mini kit. The whole genome DNA was then amplified using the Nanopore Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Barcoding kit due to low DNA yield and to allow multiplexing during DNA sequencing. This process involves fragmentation of the genomic DNA and addition of a linker oligonucleotide using an engineered transposase followed by amplification of the DNA with specific primers containing a unique barcode. All amplified genomic DNA samples were cleaned using MagBeads, prepped for the Genomic libraries, and ran on the Nanopore MinION Mk1c DNA sequencer. DNA reads were analyzed using the Epi2Me What's in My Pot workflow to identify specific microorganisms using standard sequence alignment to NCBI reference sequences. Initial findings showed that the microorganisms differed significantly from pond-to-pond. Each pond had its own unique mix of microorganisms, and some ponds had more diverse microorganisms than others. Various types of bacteria, archaea, and fungi were found, but their abundance and distribution varied across ponds. Environmental factors that were documented to influence diversity of microorganisms were also studied. These factors, including acidity of the water and oxygen levels, seemed to affect the types of microorganisms present. Some connections between specific microorganisms and these environmental factors suggests that they work together in the pond ecosystem. Understanding these differences can contribute to effective management and conservation of local ponds. Further research on how the microorganisms change over time, as well as studying other environmental factors and how the microorganisms function in the ponds. This information can help monitor water quality, protect the environment, and manage ponds more effectively. This work is supported by an HBCU-UP Implementation Project grant from the National Science Foundation EES 2011938. 

Lane College is a small, liberal arts, Historically Black College in Jackson, TN. The Division of Natural and Physical Sciences provides undergraduate research experiences for students majoring in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, or physics. To increase inclusivity, all students within one of the five majors are encouraged to apply, regardless of GPA, classification, or previous research experience. This eight-week program features a bi-weekly professional development session and a symposium at the end of the program where students present their research findings. During the summer of 2023, seven biology students completed a metagenomics research study with the goal to explore the biodiversity of different local freshwater aquatic environments. The students collected water samples from four local ponds with metadata such as pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and GPS coordinates. Initial observations of aquatic life using microscopy and dichotomous keys were made. The DNA was extracted from the samples using ethanol precipitation followed by clean-up with the ZymoBIOMICS DNA Miniprep kit. DNA was amplified using the Nanopore Rapid PCR barcoding kit or the 16S PCR barcoding kit and sequenced with the Nanopore MinION Mk1C. DNA sequences were initially analyzed using the Nanopore Minnow and Epi2Me What's in My Pot Workflows. Each student explored the subsequent data to answer specific research questions about the biodiversity in each environment, such as the impact of pH, dissolved oxygen, whether the pond was static or free flowing, or the presence of different pathogenic or toxic microbes. Overall, they found that while there was some overlap, aquatic organisms varied in the ponds depending on whether the pond was static or free flowing, pH, dissolved oxygen, and location. Some of the students continued these research projects during the fall 2023 semester in the Biology Undergraduate Research course where they refined their research questions and analyzed the data using additional bioinformatics tools available on Galaxy. 

Twenty percent (20%) of annual deaths worldwide are attributed to microbial pathogens. Pathogenic illnesses pose major threats to the overall health and safety of humans. These illnesses can result in death, prolonged hospital stays, and increased hospital expenses. The goal of this research is to study the evolution and ecology of microorganisms and surveillance of human pathogens in local the ponds. Surveillance of pathogens can inform the local and global efforts for monitoring and supporting public health measures to fight diseases. Surveillance is the essential tool to inform policies, prevent infections and control responses. Samples were collected from four ponds in Jackson, TN: Lane College, Muse Park, Fairgrounds and Campbell Street Park. DNA was isolated from the water samples using ethanol precipitation followed by the ZymoBIOMICS DNA Miniprep kit. Samples were prepared for the whole genome sequencing by PCR using the Rapid Barcoding and the 16S PCR Barcoding kits from Nanopore to amplify the DNA samples. The metagenomic DNA was sequenced with the Nanopore M1KC MinION sequencer. The reads were then analyzed by the Epi2Me, What's in my pot (WIMP) or 16S Fastq workflows. All four of the ponds are known to have pathogenic in them. The Lane College Pond has Clostridium and Pseudomonas. The Fairgrounds Pond has Bacillus and Legionella. The Campbell Street Pond has Clostridium, Bacillus, Leptospira and Pseudomonas. The Muse Park Pond has Leptospira, Legionella, and Clostridium. Further studies can be done with this project to examine the concept of how pathogens affect microbiomes in an aquatic environment. This work is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation EES 2011938. 

Lane College is a Historically Black College with a mission to educate underserved minority students. As part of a primarily undergraduate teaching institution, the Division of Natural and Physical Sciences provides students with a variety of hands-on experiences, including an eight-week summer research experience. Prior to the implementation of the Lane College summer research experience, only a small number of students participated in summer research or internships at other institutions. The Lane College summer undergraduate research experience aims to be more inclusive by eliminating GPA requirements, encouraging first- and second-year students to apply, and allowing students to select any of the available research projects in the areas of biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, or physics, regardless of major. Each year, twelve to fifteen students participate in mentored research in the areas of biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and physics. The students participate in a professional development course twice per week where they learn about career opportunities in science and mathematics, preparing personal statements, scientific writing, and practice on how to effectively present their research findings. The students conduct their research in small groups with a faculty mentor. At the end of the summer, students present their overall results at the Lane Summer Science Symposium. Evaluation of student attitudes towards the research experience during the first iteration in summer 2021 indicates students internalized STEM community values, and developed a sense of self-efficacy for research, a strong sense of project ownership, and a sense of belonging to the science research community. Students participating in the evaluation believe that the experience made science more interesting and that they have better clarity of career opportunities in STEM. Similar levels of engagement were observed in the summers of 2022 and 2023. Students participating in the program are encouraged to submit abstracts to both regional and national conferences. This has resulted in 14 students presenting annually at discipline-specific conferences and one publication co-authored by two summer research students. This work is supported by grants NSF EES 2011938 and EDU 1833960.