Biomolecular Clean Laboratory

The biomolecular clean lab at the Field Museum, part of the Museum’s Core Lab Group, is a space dedicated to the study of degraded and low DNA yield samples, such as:

Environmental DNA: DNA isolated from environmental samples (soil, sediment, air, water, or biofilm). 

Ancient DNA: DNA recovered from organic material (e.g., bone, plant matter, environmental samples, and subfossils) that is preserved under natural conditions This DNA is in trace amounts, heavily degraded, and usually >200 years old and often much older.

Historical DNA: DNA contained in the tissues of voucher specimens stored in museums and herbaria. Tissues collected specifically for DNA extractions and preserved in ethanol, DMSO, RNAlater, or frozen are considered modern DNA and not historical DNA. 

The facility was created in Fall 2023 and offers positive pressure lab spaces that follow strict decontamination procedures to prevent human, bacterial, and fungal contamination. It is also physically isolated from tissue samples or products of polymerase chain reactions (PCR) to avoid contamination from samples with higher DNA concentration and quality. This space has dedicated equipment necessary for DNA extraction and PCR-free sample preparation. Researchers and students affiliated with the Field Museum of Natural History can receive training to work in the clean biomolecular lab.

We are extracting eDNA filters in the clean biomolecular lab to try and detect possibly extinct species of minnows of the Evarra genus in the last remaining lakes (Chalco and Xochimilco) in the Valley of Mexico, an area which has been heavily impacted by anthropogenic development. The Field Museum has the only specimen in the world for one of these species (the only way we know the species ever existed), and so we are also trying to extract DNA from this historical specimen in the clean laboratory. This will provide us with a reference sequence that we can use to identify this genus from our environmental samples.

Sophie Picq, Manager of the Biomolecular Clean Lab

More information on the Clean Lab Info Page.