The objective of the 1999/2000 Waksman Student Scholars Program is to try to understand the origin of the domestic onion. This year's project is to build a phylogenetic tree of existing onion species.

To carry out the project, students purify DNA from a variety of dffierent onions. Subsequently, they amplify, clone, and sequence selected regions of DNA. The sequences they obtain are compared, and the differences between them are used to establish evolutionary relationships among the onion species.

In the course of these studies, students learn the basic principles of molecular biology and genetic engineering. They work closely with Waksman Institute scientists. Most importantly, by actually doing science, they get a real understanding of the how science works.

Outline of the project. Briefly describes techniques used by students to carry out the onion project.

Laboratory protocols. Actual protocols students use in their work.

Archive of results. Contains sequences of onion genomic DNA regions and phylogenetic trees of onions species obtained by students.

Comments about content and layout of the page are welcome: revyakin@waksman.rutgers.edu