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Bring Your Own Sample to Dr. Raymann’s Course On Microbiomes For Spring 2025!

Although invisible to the naked eye, there reside trillions of microbes in and around us. Communities of these microbes, which include bacteria, fungi, and viruses, form what we call a microbiome. The human gut alone has more microbial cells than human cells in the body! The gut microbiome represents nearly 5,000 species of microorganisms that help with digestion, destroy invasive species, and promote the immune system. This symbiotic relationship is mutually beneficial for the host and the microbes themselves, since they have a stable environment, get nutrients, and are able to reproduce.

Stemming from her interest in symbiosis, Dr. Raymann found herself working with honeybees, a model system to study and understand host-associated microbial communities. Unlike other insect species, where their gut microbes are a result of environmental sources, honeybees acquire their gut microbes through social interactions with their sisters. The honeybee gut microbiota is of low complexity and is composed of only five to eight microbial species, which makes them an ideal model system to answer questions surrounding social interactions and gut microbiota. Currently, Dr. Raymann’s research focuses on how chemical and environmental perturbations (changes of function in a biology system) affect honeybee gut microbiomes and overall honeybee health. 

Students measuring, weighing, and dissecting Dubia roaches in preparation for DNA extraction. 
Students measuring, weighing, and dissecting Dubia roaches in preparation for DNA extraction. 

Since arriving at NC State, a research-heavy institute, Dr. Raymann has been able to further her research and introduce a BIT course on microbes to share her field with interested students. Dr. Raymann has two pet lizards, a bearded dragon and an ackie monitor, both of which feed on insects. She started feeding them Blaptica dubia, more commonly referred to as dubia roaches, which is a species of cockroach originating from South America. Interestingly enough, dubia roaches, unlike many other insects who lay eggs instead,  give live birth and where eggs hatch inside the mother and then she gives birth to nymphs. Dr. Raymann’s focus on microbiomes led her to use dubia roaches as a model system in her class to understand whether giving live birth means vertical inheritance of microbes from the mother, as observed in humans, or if it’s environmentally dependent. Last semester, she introduced other species of roaches that lay eggs such as red runner roaches and those that give live birth such as discoid roaches to her class, analyzed the effects of different diets on the microbiome, and compared the mother’s microbial communities to that of her children. For the upcoming Spring 2025 semester, however, Dr. Raymann has decided to change up the course a little bit to where students can bring their own sample of a microbiome!

Students preparing gut samples for DNA extraction. 
Students preparing gut samples for DNA extraction. 

The course starts with the students generating their own hypotheses concerning their samples or a sample provided by Dr. Raymann. Once the hypotheses have been made, students learn about sampling, storing samples, and DNA extraction techniques. Students perform DNA extraction and then learn about how to implement Polymerase Chain Reaction, or PCR, to analyze their samples. PCR is a technique that amplifies DNA sequences, and these can then be used to identify microbes. Following PCR, students learn about library preparation of amplicon sequencing, the first step of a type of next-generation sequencing (NGS) that allows DNA samples to be converted to a library of fragments, which can then be sequenced using a NGS instrument. Using the sequencer in her lab, students are able to obtain sequence data for their sample and then learn how to analyze and interpret the results. Lastly, students write a short paper detailing their results and then share and discuss their results with their peers. Last semester, there was plenty of time after the project, which allowed students to use different programs such as Illustrator and Inkscape to create publication-quality figures, which could be added to their posters if they decided to make posters about their project. These analysis and science communication skills are transferable to any future science career.

BIT 495/595 (Special Topics) Microbiomes: From Sampling to Community Class of Spring 2024
BIT 495/595 (Special Topics) Microbiomes: From Sampling to Community Class of Spring 2024

Offered during the second eight-week session, BIT 495/595 (Special Topics) Microbiomes: From Sampling to Community Analysis still has seats available, so make sure you put it in your cart for Spring 2025!