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Forney Lab: Tema Bassett

Introduction

The microbial community of the vagina is complex, and it is believed that certain bacterial species play an important part in maintaining a healthy vagina. The anaerobic bacteria of the vagina are believed to produce microbiocidals, such as hydrogen peroxide, and lower the pH by producing fatty acid byproducts.

Objectives

The goal of this research is to identify and characterize the different bacteria found in the microbial community of the vagina of five women. In this process probes will be constructed that can later be used to analyze a larger sample size. The identification of sentinel species is also an important goal of the project. These sentinel species are sensitive to any changes in the environment and may be used to prevent or quickly eliminate disease.

Approach

The microbial community of the vagina will be characterized using DNA sequencing and DNA amplification. The DNA amplification will be conducted using group-specific primers for PCR. The relative abundance of the identified bacteria will then be analyzed using T-RFLP. Biochemical properties of these bacteria will also be analyzed in order to better understand their role in the microbial community of the vagina.

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Forney Lab
Department of Biological Sciences
Room 282, Life Sciences Building
University of Idaho
P.O. Box 443051
Moscow, ID 83844-3051
Lab Phone: (208) 885-2583
Email: lforney@uidaho.edu

Updated September 2005
Website enhancements were supported by the NSF-Idaho EPSCoR program and by the National Science Foundation under award number EPS-0132626.