Congratulations, Aman!

This semester we had a major milestone, as Aman Pruthi became the first graduate student to finish a degree in the Johnson Lab!

Aman’s Master’s Thesis is “Development of genomic tools for the moss Bryum argenteum and its comparative analysis with other published moss genomes” and is available on the Texas Tech Library website.

Aman used two types of high-throughput DNA sequencing - Oxford Nanopore PromethION and Illumina NovaSeq - to generate a hybrid genome assembly and annotation of the moss Bryum argenteum. His work is part of our collaborative project funded by the US Golf Association to control “silvery threaded moss” on putting greens. We have observed major growth differences in B. argenteum when it is on golf courses versus in its natural habitat, and this genome will provide insights on any genetic differences associated with the invasion of putting greens.

Aman officially walked at graduation in May, 2022. He accepted a job as a bioinformatics specialist at Frontage Laboratories in south Florida. Congratulations Aman and good luck with your next steps!

Matt Johnson and Aman Pruthi after Graduation, May 2022	Bryum argenteum gametophytes and a few young sporophytes