which project is easier?

1) Legionella spp in UK compost – is there a real threat?
Recent work has suggested that Legionella may be present in garden compost. These studies have been in Australia and more recently in Scotland, but is this a real threat in urban environments such as London? To address this garden compost samples from different sources will be assessed by microbiological testing to assess whether Legionella spp are present. Suspect isolates will be further characterised by biochemical and molecular methods to confirm their identity. This project will give the student a good understanding of microbiological methods and molecular techniques.

OR

2)
Are Bartonella present in UK arthropods?
This student will work with the above, but will investigate the presence of Bartonella spp. in ticks, lice and fleas. DNA will be extracted and will be analysed using PCR. Positives will be further analysed using sequence-based techniques to identify the agents further.
•Literature review
•Consideration of molecular detection methods – which is best?
•Brief assessment of chosen PCR using samples already extracted
•Characterisation of any positives detected through sequence analysis


Need advice on which project to choose...
WHICH PROJECT IS EASIER? AND HAS MORE RESOURCES FOR?

Thanks