My name is Elizabeth Rae. I am a Senior in the Genetics and Biotechnology major. Over this past summer, 2014, I was able to work for the USDA in Geneva, NY in an apple breeding program. On this internship the major project I worked was using marker assisted selection to sort out useful individuals from a cross of species. Marker
assisted selection (MAS) is used by plant breeders to select for traits with a
known genetic connection before expression of the trait is manifest in order to
save time and money in the breeding process. Two genetic markers were tested on
the members of the recently crossed apple population. The markers are Dwarfing19976
and Wooly Apple Aphid 68101-236. Trees with both of these genetic markers were
kept for continued evaluation and all the remaining ones were removed from the
program.
The opportunity
to go to Geneva, NY to work on this project was irreplaceable. I gained many
valuable skills. Most importantly, I made new friends and earned the respect of
my superiors. I gained many interpersonal skills and took opportunities to get
to know people personally that I might not have taken before. Because I was
trying to understand people around me, I orchestrated several trips to local
landmarks with other young adults in order to get to know them beyond the job.
In all, I have gained technical knowledge and have become more confident with
my peers because of this internship experience.
