Omics Lab

The Omics Lab is currently equipped with all facilities to carry out DNA extractions, polymerase chain reactions (PCR) and gel electrophoresis. Current research includes the biodiversity and functions of cryophilic microbiomes with the focus on snow and ice algal communities.
The main equipment consists of a low temperature chamber and a real-time thermal PCR Cycler. The environmental chamber (Percival LT-36VL) allows to perform incubation at set chosen environmental parameters, or following a program set by the user, with the possibility to mimic day-night or seasonal variations. Temperatures between -10 and 40 °C are available, as well as fluctuation of light (visible, UV-A and UV-B independently) and CO₂ levels. The chamber is used to reproduce supraglacial environments in the lab, and to perform stress experiments on microorganisms. The qTower³ G touch qPCR machine is a 96-well format and currently uses one SYBR Green module, however, can be equipped with up to six for multiplexing capabilities. One main function of this system will be to evaluate stress parameters on microbial communities collected from Arctic snow and ice samples.