Thursday 20 December 2012

PhD week 41: Success

Successful COI gel. All samples worked nicely
(including the negative control, precisely because it didn't).

Last week was a good week, on two counts. First, I managed to get consistent amplification of the cytochrome c oxidase region for my weevils. As I've previously written, this has been trickier than I originally thought. In the end it came down to a very simple fix, which in hindsight I should've figured out much earlier than now. However, the relief of getting it sorted compensates for the silliness I feel that I didn't click to it earlier.

Lateral view of Irenimus parilis Pascoe

The second success of the week was finding Irenimus parilis. This was important because this species is the type species of Irenimus. This means that to be included in the genus Irenimus, species have to be similar to I. parilis. This makes it an important species to obtain DNA sequence data for. A year ago I saw a specimen collected from a market garden north of Christchurch. I managed to get in touch with the owner of the place and visited it on Thursday. There, in a uninspiring, weedy corner of the property, we managed to find three specimens of I. parilis. Valuable, not only for their DNA, but also to get an idea of their habitat and biology.


Read:
   Psalm 146

Watched:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
VESTAS Sailrocket 2 sails breaks 60 knot speed record
Frogs of the Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 7

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