SEEDS Internship : African savanna mystery of the Red Grass

Perennial tussock grasses are the living infrastructure of African savannas, providing food to the large herbivores, homes to insects, keeping the ground cool, and holding the soil together. Understanding their history, diversity, and palatability is essential for protecting wildlife. In 2024 the custodians of the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya found a new and strange grass the animals love: similar to Sehima nervosa, but with inflorescence structure matching Ischaemum afrum. The intern will sequence DNA from samples at the Kew herbarium, analyse DNA sequences, study their morphology using a dissecting microscope, and compare the results to known sequences and older Kew collections. There is a high probability of making a new discovery and contribution to a publication. 

Work plan: Full-time

Weeks 1-2: extract DNA from 5-10 Kew samples, prepare DNA libraries for genomic sequencing

Weeks 3-4: compare the morphology of grass samples at the Kew herbarium, including dissection of inflorescences under the microscope, while we wait for DNA sequence data

Weeks 5-6: compare and analyse DNA sequence data using bioinformatic toolkits, compare conclusions from morphology and from DNA

Work plan: Part-time

Weeks 1-2: extract DNA from 5-10 Kew samples, prepare DNA libraries for genomic sequencing  

Weeks 3-4: compare the morphology of grass samples at the Kew herbarium, including dissection of inflorescences under the microscope, while we wait for DNA sequence data  

Weeks 5-6: compare and analyse DNA sequence data using bioinformatic toolkits, compare conclusions from morphology and from DNA