Tape it 'til you make it: part 2

I have big plans for Hollis. And he has big plans for himself. One of the first things he told me when we first met is that he is college-bound. No questions. No second thoughts. He is going to college.

Alright, dude, let's get you into college. 

We spent all last year sorting larvae from Arctic zooplankton samples. There are still more samples to go through, but I didn't want Hollis to spend a second year sitting at a microscope - he already knows how to sort larvae. It's time to expand his range of skills.

When we started mentorship this year, I told Hollis about some of the lab techniques I wanted to introduce him to. I had barely finished saying the words "DNA extraction" before he squealed in delight. 

The scallop project we're working on right now provides an excellent opportunity to introduce Hollis to molecular biology techniques. We've separated all the bivalve larvae from the samples, but we have to verify that the larvae we're looking at are actually scallops. All bivalve larvae look the same - it's actually really annoying. Once after a long sampling marathon, I referred to a large catch of larvae as "tiny stupid bivalves" - and thanks to my postdoc, that name made it into our official sample log. The name really shows how I feel. They're all small; they're all smooth; they're impossible to tell apart. Stupid bivalves. 

Thankfully, the bivalves in the Georges Bank samples that Hollis and I are working on aren't all exactly the same. We have at least 3 distinct types - ones with a notch in the shell, ones with an eyespot, and ones that are smooth and shaped like a D. That gives us a place to start. I decided we should extract DNA from a few individuals in each category and see what species they were. Hopefully, bivalves that look the same will be the same species, and ones that look different will be different species. And hopefully one of those species will be Atlantic sea scallops, Placopecten magellanicus. 

We did the first step in DNA extraction this week. That first step is actually the hardest: getting individual bivalves into a tube without bringing along any of the ethanol they were preserved in. You have to work under a microscope to see what you're doing, crush the larva with a needle so the tissue can get out, let the ethanol evaporate, replace the ethanol with a bubble of water, and then very carefully suck up the larva and add it to your extraction tube. 

Hollis did great. Most people (including me!) lose larvae left and right when they start doing sensitive manipulations like this under a microscope, but not Hollis. He didn't lose a single larva all day. We got 7 individuals safely into extraction tubes and ready to go. I am so proud of him. 

Hollis suggested we film our work, so I set up my phone to do a time-lapse video. It turned out really cool. You can see Hollis at the microscope, me standing beside offering directions, and occasionally holding a tube up to the light to see if there's a larva in it. We make a great team. I'm glad I got to introduce Hollis to a new lab technique. This kid is going places.