Local Genome Project Gives Plants Bar Codes - KTUL.com - Tulsa, Oklahoma - News, Weather & Sports

Tulsa Community College hosted the first international research project to barcode medicinal and endemic plants of Costa Rica this week.

The national workshop, "iPlant Collaborative - DNA Subway," was held at TCC's Southwest Campus Wednesday and Thursday.

TCC Biology faculty Mary Phillips, Mark Swanson, Terry Whittaker, and Melissa Gentry hosted the project with guests Dave Micklos and Sheldon McKay of the DNA Learning Center in Cold Springs Harbor, New York, to learn barcode protocols and use latest bioinformatics tools.

"A DNA barcode is a D-N-A sequence that uniquely identifies species," said Phillips, the lead project instructor. "Eventually, all species will have their very own unique barcode."

The project was the result of an international collaboration between TCC, the University of Georgia at Athens - Costa Rica (UGA CR), and the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife to obtain the plant samples and international permits.

TCC students were involved in the collection of the samples and will learn barcode protocols and bioinformatics, as part of a Faculty Innovation Grant to provide student international research opportunities.

TCC and UGA Costa Rica are discussing a similar proposal for an orchid DNA barcoding project in the San Luis Botanical Garden.