doctoral candidate
Pelin Taş
#AirborneEnvironmentalDNA #eDNAir #Honey #FoodBiotechnology #Pollen-PollinatorRelationship #NextGenerationSequencing #Metabarcoding
This field focuses on identifying adulteration and counterfeiting in food products by utilizing molecular biological techniques in food microbiology to control and maintain food safety and public health in the food industry. Its areas of study include the identification of animal and plant species in such foods, as well as the detection of genetically modified foods that affect biodiversity.
Pelin Taş worked for two years as a validation and product development specialist at the Agrigenomics Hub (AgriGx) Animal and Plant Genomics Research Innovation Center, and for two years as a laboratory coordinator at the Evolutionary Genetics Laboratory. She holds an Associate's Degree in Wine Production Technology and Viticulture, a Bachelor's Degree in Food Engineering, and a Master's Degree from Ankara University's Biotechnology Institute, and is currently pursuing her doctorate at the Biotechnology Institute.
During her associate degree studies, she worked in the production and laboratory departments of Öküzgözü Winery in Bornova, İzmir, and during her bachelor's degree studies, she worked at BAK-Gıda Tarım ve Ticaret A.Ş. She also participated in a research project at Teramo University in Italy titled "Microbiological and Oncological Studies on Sparkling Wines Produced from Grapes Grown in the Abruzzo Region".
The master's thesis entitled "Analysis of Botanical Origin of Honey Content via Metabarcoding" has been successfully completed, and it has been determined that the metabarcoding method is functional in this product. Furthermore, a workflow has been created that can be used in similar products.
In the summer of 2023, she participated in the project “A Microbiome Perspective to Secondary Contact in Alpine Butterflies,” a collaboration between the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland) and the University of Franche-Comté (France). She has been actively involved in barcoding and metabarcoding studies to date. Her research focuses on areas such as determining biodiversity in extreme environments, the impact of mucilage on biodiversity, eDNA and eRNA protocol optimization, food supply security, and the integration of omics data with artificial intelligence. She also follows new developments and tools in the molecular field, contributing to numerous areas ranging from routine qPCR testing to new technologies like ddPCR, high-capacity sequencing methods such as Illumina, Ion Torrent, and Oxford Nanopore, and bioinformatics processes.
Currently, she serves as the principal investigator in the project titled "Airborne DNA (eDNAir) Metabarcoding in Taxonomic Identification of Environmental Samples," supported by the TÜBİTAK 1002-A Rapid Support Program. This project investigates advanced molecular techniques for environmental monitoring and biodiversity, and her research is ongoing.
Projects
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Metabarcoding of Airborne DNA (eDNAir) in Taxonomic Characterization of Environmental Samples (project leader)
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Investigation of the Effect of Mucilage on Biodiversity in the Water Column and Seabed of Bandırma Bay and the Çanakkale Strait Using Metabarcoding and Development of Biomonitoring Markers
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Let It Bee (showrunner)
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A microbiome perspective to secondary contact in Alpine butterflies
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Tr.Aqua: Innovative and Sustainable Practices in Aquaculture within the Framework of Food Supply Security
Other Projects
Integration of Multiple Ohmic Data with Artificial Intelligence Algorithms
Comparison of Pollinator Insect Diversity of Narrowly and Widespread Plants Growing in Marl Habitats Using eDNA Metabarcoding Technique
Master's Thesis
Analysis of the Botanical Origin of Honey Content through Metabarcoding
Today, the adulteration and counterfeiting of honey has become a global problem, and with new fraudulent methods constantly emerging to deceive every existing analysis, different analytical methods are being developed. One molecular-based method, DNA barcoding, emerges as a rapid and reliable identification by comparing short genetic markers in the DNA of different species to reference sequences. This identification often goes beyond species, making it possible to identify local varieties and thus the geographic origin of the product. Metabarcoding, along with next-generation sequencing, which can characterize the complexity of samples containing many species that would be difficult to identify and detect with standard methods, is presented as an unbiased approach to defining the taxonomic composition in complex materials. This study investigates the usability of metabarcoding by isolating DNA from honey as an environmental source for determining botanical origin, and establishing a workflow for this method. A method has been developed as an alternative to existing analyses for identifying honey adulteration and counterfeiting that is faster, more economical, requires less labor, and allows for species-level results.
Keywords: Metabarcoding, Environmental DNA (eDNA), Honey, Botanical Origin, High-Throughput Sequencing
The study can be accessed through the National Thesis Center ( https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/ ) with thesis number 749495.