Comparing what you see with what's in the DNA

Comparing what you see with what's in the DNA

Junior Elizabeth Mahler spent her summer term 2024 both in the field and in the lab. She shares her experience below.

This summer I've had the pleasure of studying Lepidoptera- the scientific name for butterflies and moths. Specifically my goal is to find a way to properly distinguish between the orange and clouded sulpher species, and to test my hypothesis that they are actually the same species. In my research, I'm testing whether or not the field guide method, which calls species based on the amount of orange on their wing, is an accurate way to identify the species by comparing their coloration pattern to their DNA sequence at a specific gene. This research is a culmination of multiple semesters of working in and outside of the lab here at The Ohio State University at Lima. While outside of the lab I collect butterflies via aerial netting. I've attempted to obtain at least fifty of each species to have a significant amount of data to prove my thesis. My work inside the lab consists of keying and prepping the butterflies, and then I move to DNA extraction and DNA sequencing. Finally, I take an image of the wing and use Adobe Photoshop to quantify the percentage of orange on the said wing.

This summer I was funded by the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program, or URAP. The URAP has allowed me to conduct mostly independent research. I've compared this opportunity to my other summer jobs and have come away feeling more fulfilled and knowledgeable. The skills I'm building now will help me through my tenure at Ohio State whether it's studying Health Sciences/Pre-Med or later as a doctor of medicine. My favorite part of my research has been the connections and friendships I've created and strengthened along the way.