We Have To PCR The PCR Product, And Back To Cleburne County

Travis and I tested the concentration of the stippled studfish PCR-amplified DNA that was purified from gel bands. Eight samples ranged from 1.5 - 10 nanograms of DNA per microliter, and we need about 50 ng/ul for sequencing. So, we can PCR the purified PCR products, a pain in the ass but not too bad; we only have 37 of them. I knew this might be the outcome of cutting out the bands; the product is exactly what we want, but relatively little of it. To make this easier I just ordered a powerful handheld ultraviolet lamp so that we can more easily cut out bands from gels. I have to give Travis credit for doing a good job so far, since we've had to visualize the bands on a large UV box, make marking cuts, and then punch out the gels away from the UV so that no one gets their eyes burned by UV.

And speaking of stippled studfish, I think we're going out next Tuesday to check the Little Tallapoosa River and its tributaries for stippled studfish. This river flows from GA into AL to the south of where we went two weeks ago. There are no records of stippleds from this river, to my knowledge, but I find it hard to believe that the species wasn't there originally. If we don't find any stippleds in this area, we can pretty definitively say that the species doesn't exist in the Tallapoosa drainage upstream from Cornhouse Creek to the south in Randolph County. Maybe they are somewhere, but they would be pretty scarce.

Right now I'm giving and grading final exams, everyone concerned looks pretty punchdrunk.