Rare white lobster becomes hands-on teaching tool for UNE marine genetics class
A white “ghost” lobster named Casper, donated by the Maine State Aquarium, is being used by University of New England students to practice DNA sequencing and explore color-gene questions.
University of New England researchers have added a rare white lobster, dubbed Casper, to a collection of unusually colored crustaceans at the Arthur P. Girard Marine Science Center. The lobster, supplied by the Maine State Aquarium, is part of a series of projects led by marine sciences professor Markus Frederich, with graduate teaching assistant Kade Tyrrell. Students are extracting DNA from Casper and other lobsters—blue, orange, and calico—to determine whether specific mutations cause their rare colors.
So far, sequenced genes appear identical to those of typical lobsters, but the work provides hands-on training in techniques that translate to rats, humans and other organisms. Tyrrell is also probing whether color correlates with behavioral traits such as aggression. After experiments, the lobsters will be returned to the ocean, and the team hopes to expand the study pending additional funding.
