Identification of Deer Mouse Populations across Madrean Sky Islands
Biomedical Engineering
Lina Ali
Abstract
Due to the unreliable nature of visual identification of deer mice in the field, we aimed to use a species-specific gene (cytochrome b) to characterize Peromyscus species within the Santa Catalina mountains of the Madrean Sky Islands. By extracting DNA using ear tissue, amplifying the cytochrome b gene, and ensuring its presence using gel electrophoresis, we were able to obtain the sequences of 8 total Peromyscus samples.
From this, we created a phylogenetic tree to aid in visualizing the evolution of the Peromyscus genus and aim to use this information for the evolution of the species due to geographic changes and aid the understanding of how hosts and microbes diversify in tandem.