The Herbarium within the United States National Museum of Natural History located in Washington D.C. houses approximately five million plant specimens representing biodiversity from around the world. This remarkable collection is an invaluable resource for plant diversity and evolutionary research. This summer, support from the Florida Museum of Natural History Travel Award gave me the opportunity to visit the herbarium, collect nearly 100 samples for my independent research project, gain hands-on experience working with historical plant collections, and interact with botanists at the Smithsonian.
My research focuses on Zygophyllaceae, a globally distributed but relatively understudied family of plants that is especially diverse in arid environments. I first became involved with research on this family while assisting my graduate student mentor, Bharti Parihar, with her dissertation research in the Soltis Lab. Through this work, I became interested in a challenge that frequently arises when historical herbarium specimens are used for genomic research: DNA degradation. Although herbarium specimens can provide genetic material from species and geographic regions that would otherwise be difficult to sample, the age and condition of preserved tissues may affect the amount and quality of DNA that can be recovered. From this broader research, I developed an independent project investigating the relationship between herbarium specimen age, DNA recovery, and sequencing success.
During my visit to the Smithsonian, I sampled leaf tissue from 95 Zygophyllaceae specimens for subsequent DNA extraction and sequencing at the Florida Museum of Natural History. The United States National Herbarium contains one of the largest collections of Zygophyllaceae in the country, and the specimens I sampled represent nearly one-third of the approximately 295 species in the family. This sampling substantially expands the representation of Zygophyllaceae available for our research while also providing specimens collected across a broad range of ages.
Sampling historical herbarium material requires balancing the needs of genomic research with the responsibility of preserving specimens for future generations. For each approved specimen, I carefully removed approximately 1 cm² of leaf tissue while minimizing damage to the specimen and recorded associated collection metadata. After DNA extraction and sequencing, I will use these data to test whether older specimens yield less DNA or have lower sequencing success than more recently collected specimens.
Beyond collecting material for my research, visiting the Smithsonian provided valuable training in destructive sampling and herbarium collection workflows. I learned more about how specimens are curated, managed, documented, and made available for biodiversity research. I also had the opportunity to work alongside and interact with professional botanists. Dr. Jun Wen of the Smithsonian’s Department of Botany was instrumental in making this visit successful, and working with her and my mentor provided invaluable training and insight into collections-based research.
The experience has prepared me for the next stage of my independent project in which I will extract DNA from the samples and evaluate relationships among specimen age, DNA recovery, and sequencing success. Most importantly, the trip showed me firsthand how historical museum collections can contribute to modern genomic research. I am grateful to the Florida Museum of Natural History for providing the travel support that made this research experience possible.
Holly Buss is an undergraduate student majoring in botany, specializing in botanical research. Holly has been conducting research for about a year advised by Dr. Doug Soltis, Distinguished Professor of Biology.
The 2026 Summer Student Travel Awards are supported by the FLMNH Department of Natural History, including funds from the Louis C. and Jane Gapenski Endowed Fellowship. If you would like to help support this fund for future student awards, please go to: