Over the semester, you will dive into scientific literature, attend seminars, and hear from invited speakers. You’ll also explore a variety of marine organisms and ecosystems! Many lessons, lectures, and studies in your textbook focus on microorganisms, and for good reason—microorganisms play a fundamental role in the ocean. Microbes have close relationships with macrofauna and flora and are primary producers in multiple ecosystems. To better understand the role of microbes and learn how to analyze community data, you will read a scientific journal article that studies microbial communities in marine systems and reanalyze the data used in the study to draw their conclusions. The goals of this Data Analysis project are twofold:
- To gain a deep understanding of environment or host microbial interactions.
- To develop state-of-the-art data analysis skills. Don’t worry if you have no prior experience with data analysis, bioinformatics, or amplicon sequencing! I’ll guide you step by step, starting with the basics. This project is designed to teach you these skills during class. While it’s an individual assignment, you’re encouraged to form working groups with your peers for support and collaboration. You’re welcome to choose a scientific paper that aligns with your interests. If relevant, you can even use this paper as one of the sources for your Research Project.
The outcome of this assignment will be a short paper that includes:
- A summary of the main premise of the study from the original paper, including: a. The ecosystem/organism it focuses on. b. Why this is an important system. c. The role of microbes in this context.
- A brief summary of the methods (focusing only on microbial data), highlighting what the researchers aimed to measure or explain.
- Results of your analysis.
- A brief discussion of your results and a comparison with those presented in the original paper. This project is an exciting opportunity to develop both your analytical skills and your understanding of the intricate role microbes play in marine ecosystems. Let’s make it fun and informative!
Here you will find all the code needed to complete your work. Have fun!