Toms River Students, Teachers Dig Into Plant Genes

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A group of Toms River high school students and teachers have been getting hands-on experience this summer with genetics research at Rutgers University, according to the Toms River Regional School District.

Mei Fang Wang, a student at Toms River East, and Toms River South students Lolo Aluko Janelle Jean-Louis, and teachers Jennifer Fazzini from Toms River East and Michele Martini and Christine Girtain from Toms River South spent three weeks participating in the Waksman Student Scholars Program at Rutgers.

The group was sequencing the DNA of duckweed, Landoltia punctata, a plant that is being studied as a replacement for corn in bio-fuels because of its high starch content, according to the district.

The Waksman program gives students the opportunity to participate in an authentic research project with the possibility of publishing their results on the international DNA sequence databases for scientists across the world to use, according to the Waksman website.

"In the process, students learn the background and methodologies in molecular biology and bioinformatics that are currently being used in modern biotechnology and academic research laboratories," the Waksman site says.

The three Toms River students all participate in the district's Authentic Science Research program.

Sequencing DNA helps scientists as they try to understand how genes work together to direct the growth, development and maintenance of an entire organism, according to the Genome News Networkwebsite.

The work of the Toms River teachers and students will be published in the International NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) database, according to a news release. And the work will continue through the 2016-2017 school year, helping to complete the duckweed genome, the district said.

The Waksman website said students who've participated in the past gained knowledge and experience that helped them with admission to college and finding research laboratories to work in as undergraduates.

Photo via Toms River Regional School District