Microbial Distribution in Sacramento and Globally

Sacramento Microbial Distribution

1. Search for your bacterium in Sacramento (any of the sample sites in Sacramento). Take a screenshot of the page after the search. (1 point)

2. Describe how your bacterium is distributed across Sacramento. For instance, was it found in the same proportion across all sample sites? If not, where was it most and least abundant? Full points will be given for detailed, specific descriptions. (3 points)

3. Aside from your microbe, name at least two bacteria that were found in a Sacramento sample site at high abundance (greater than 1% relative abundance). In your response, state exactly which sample site you used to answer the question. (2 points)

4. Compare the overall diversity of bacteria between two Sacramento sample sites by comparing and contrasting the taxonomy wheels of two locations. You may think about the similarities or differences between the largest representative taxonomic groups, species, the number of potentially pathogenic species, etc. (3 points)

4. Which cities have the highest abundance of your bacterium? List the top three cities. (1 point)

5. Select a city outside of the United States and view the distribution of your assigned bacterium. Describe the distribution of your bacterium in the non-US city (state the city you looked at) and compare/contrast that to the distribution of your bacterium in Sacramento. (3 points)

6. Select two sample sites, one in Sacramento and one in the city you chose in question #5. View the taxonomic wheels for each and include screenshots of them here. Make sure to include a label as to the city and country. (1 point)

7. Compare and contrast the diversity of bacteria between the two cities from question #6. What are the major differences and similarities? Full points will be given for specific, detailed descriptions. (3 points)

8. A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested experimentally. It is not a question, but more of an expected conclusion that explains an observation and follows a rationale. A rationale is the justification for the hypothesis. A rationale is typically based on published data, previous experiments, or logic. Together, these form the starting point for the scientific process.

Generate a hypothesis and rationale for why the distribution of bacteria between the two cities in question #7 are similar or different. You may want to consider the climate, the society and culture, or lifestyle. You may also want to support your hypothesis or rationale with peer-reviewed published literature (example, through PubMed) or other legitimate sources of information (example, government or academic websites). At the end of the worksheet are some papers that may be helpful. Be sure to cite any sources you use.

Your microbe

9. Read about how the samples were collected by MetaSub researchers here. Based on this information and what you now know about your microbe, does it make sense that your microbe was found in Sacramento? If yes, explain. If not, what specific information would you need to help you better understand why your microbe was or was not found in Sacramento? (3 points)

10. What does the presence of your bacterium at the sample sites mean? Is it a good thing, a bad thing, or neutral? For example, the presence of a deadly virus in multiple public places would be a health crisis. Your response can include a description of what other pieces of data would you need to know or what experiments would need to be run to help answer the question. (3 points)