Individual Blog Post

Individual Blog Post by Najib Bajouri

Our experiment will investigate the relationship between the molluscs: Scallop, Oysters, Mussels, Squid, and Clams and how they compare, in regards to proteins and ancestry.

The molluscs involved in the experiment can be differentiated from a marine biologist  and morphological point of view, looking at the environment each organisms live in to classify their relation. We consider shrimp the outgroup of our organisms, using it to contrast traits found in the other molluscs. Viewing the environment in which molluscs live is a good way of separating the species into their common ancestry, but gel electrophoresis gives us more information to accurately portray the relationships of the molluscs. By using gel electrophoresis, we can compare the proteins found in each type of mollusc. Before running the gel, a prediction can be made based on research about which molluscs will be more closely related with one-another. Clams and Mussels both act as filter-feeders in areas of freshwater, affecting the ecosystem greatly (Strayer et. al). Their similar roles in the same environment possibly results in the two being more related to each other than to any other mollusc.

References

Strayer D, Caraco N, Cole J, Findlay S, Pace M. January 1999. Transformation Of Freshwater Ecosystems By Bivalves. Vol 49. Oxford University Press. Pg 19. Feb 8 2017