CourseSource: Resources

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From Dirt to Streptomyces DNA

The purpose of this semester-long Lesson is to give students an authentic, course-based undergraduate research experience during which they learn basic and advanced microbiological and molecular biology techniques. This project begins with the...

Courses: Microbiology

MetabolismAntibiotic productionrRNA genesSecondary metabolitesStreptomyces

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3331

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615

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Predicting and classifying effects of insertion and deletion mutations on protein coding regions

Mutations in genes can affect the encoded proteins in multiple ways, and some of these effects are counterintuitive. As for any other knowledge, students must create their own deep understanding of the Central Dogma. Students may not develop this...

Courses: Bioinformatics Genetics Science Process Skills

mutationcentral dogmatranslationframeshift

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2546

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639

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Follow the Sulfur: Using Yeast Mutants to Study a Metabolic Pathway

Students are frequently overwhelmed by the complexity of metabolic pathways and they think they have "learned" the pathway when they have memorized the individual reactions. This laboratory lesson helps students to understand the...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Genetics Introductory Biology Microbiology Science Process Skills

SelectionyeastMetabolismcysteinemediamethioninemutantPathwaysulfur

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3026

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203

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The Three Sisters of Agriculture: An Active Learning Activity on Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation

This active learning exercise introduces students to the plant microbiome and the contributions that bacteria make to plant growth and food production. The Three Sisters are an ancient indigenous practice in which three plant crops and the...

Courses: Microbiology

SymbiosisPlant microbiomeNitrogen fixationNutritional content of foodElectron flowSociety impact of microorganisms

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7924

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394

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Investigating Cell Signaling with Gene Expression Datasets

Modern molecular biology is a data- and computationally-intensive field with few instructional resources for introducing undergraduate students to the requisite skills and techniques for analyzing large data sets. This Lesson helps students: (i)...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Cell Biology

genomicstranscriptionsignaling

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1719

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414

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How to Find a Gene: Retrieving Information From Gene Databases

A strong understanding of distinct gene components and the ability to retrieve relevant information from gene databases are necessary to answer a diverse set of biological questions. However, often there is a considerable gap between...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Bioinformatics Cell Biology Genetics Introductory Biology

NCBItranscriptiontranslationGene StructureGene databasesEnsembl

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2212

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442

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Metastatic Mastery: A Case and Game-Based Approach to Learning About Cancer Mechanisms

Mechanisms that contribute to the development of cancer are numerous and complicated, though most can be traced to a set of mutations in cell cycle regulatory genes that throw the process of cell division off balance. Communication of these...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Genetics Introductory Biology

mutationcancertranscriptioncell cycletranslationOncogenesTumor-suppressorp53Transcription factor

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1554

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297

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Using QIIME to Interpret Environmental Microbial Communities in an Upper Level Metagenomics Course

Metagenomics is rapidly evolving due to advances in sequencing technologies and bioinformatics, but without proper training to interpret these datasets, student understanding remains limited. Aimed at undergraduate juniors and seniors and graduate...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Bioinformatics Ecology Ecology Microbiology Science Process Skills

microbiome

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Mapping a Mutation to its Gene: The "Fly Lab" as a Modern Research Experience

Although genetics is an invaluable part of the undergraduate biology curriculum, it can be intimidating to students as well as instructors: Students must reduce their reliance on memorization and dive deep into quantitative analysis, and...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Bioinformatics Genetics Science Process Skills

geneticsbioinformaticsdrosophilachi-square analysiscomplementation mappingmode of inheritancethree-point mapping

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2259

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302

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Learning Quantitative Genetics: Investigation of Genetic Control for Cold Stress Response in Plants

Course-embedded undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) for students have been shown to increase students’ understanding of the process of science, affirm their scientific identity, and improve retention in STEM fields. Despite many CUREs...

Courses: Genetics

data analysisrecombinationplantsquantitative geneticsabiotic stress responsegenetic control of complex traitsinheritance of complex traits

Lesson

1589

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342

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Investigating Gene Expression and Cell Specialization in Axolotl Embryos

The process of cell specialization is critical to the formation and function of tissues in animals and plants. Although gene expression, including the regulation of transcription, is taught in most introductory cell biology courses, the...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Cell Biology Developmental Biology Science Process Skills

developmenttranscriptiongene expressionmodel organismembryo

Lesson

3646

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676

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A Hands-on Introduction to Hidden Markov Models

In this Lesson, we describe a classroom activity that demonstrates how a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is applied to predict a eukaryotic gene, focusing on predicting one exon-intron boundary. This HMM lesson is part of the BIOL/CS 370...

Courses: Bioinformatics Genetics Science Process Skills

transcriptionexonintronsplicing

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2117

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491

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Necessary and Sufficient? Solving the Mystery of the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Transporter

While there are several available lessons for teaching introductory biology students about diffusion, facilitated diffusion, and active transport, fewer materials exist to support upper-division students' understanding of the proteins that...

Courses: Cell Biology

DiffusionActive transportfacilitated diffusionNecessary and sufficientTransport proteins

Lesson

967

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134

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Student-Generated Analogies for Learning about Information Flow

Using analogies is a standard practice for both teaching and communicating ideas in science. Here we upend the traditional lesson, where the instructor provides a fully constructed analogy and explains it, by having the students develop a complex...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Cell Biology Genetics Introductory Biology

critical thinkingcentral dogmaanalogical reasoning

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2571

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201

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A Laboratory Module That Explores RNA Interference and Codon Optimization Through Fluorescence Microscopy Using Caenorhabditis elegans

Scientific research experiences are beneficial to students allowing them to gain laboratory and problem-solving skills, as well as foundational research skills in a team-based setting. We designed a laboratory module to provide a guided research...

Courses: Bioinformatics Cell Biology Developmental Biology Genetics Science Process Skills

microscopyC. elegansquantitative analysisinquiry-based learninggene expressionRNA interferenceCodon UsageLaboratory Module

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1370

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388

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Where Does Elsie's Hair Color Come From? A "De-Simplified" Pedigree Lesson

Pedigree analysis is part of most Genetics curricula, but the examples traditionally used in genetics courses present phenotypes as if they were entirely and inexorably defined by genotype. This does not reflect the current state of understanding...

Courses: Genetics Introductory Biology

pedigreeMultifactorialphenotypic variationpenetranceexpressivityquantitative variation

Lesson

2668

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229

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Role of Crop Genetic Diversity on Pathogen Impact: The Tale of Two Pathogens

Introductory genetics courses are part of the core curriculum in many different fields, including plant breeding, animal science, biology, microbiology, and natural resource management. Concepts involving genes, inheritance, evolution, and genome...

Courses: Introductory Biology Plant Biology Science Process Skills

plant pathologygenetic diversityDisease TriangleModes of Reproduction

Lesson

3321

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Application of a Bacterial Experimental Evolution System to Visualize and Teach Evolution in Action: A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience

Concepts of evolution are typically taught through examples of extremely long timescales, which do not always resonate broadly. Here, we describe a course-based undergraduate research experience tailored for junior and senior undergraduate biology...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Bioinformatics Cell Biology Evolution Genetics Microbiology

EvolutionmutationcompetitionNatural Selectionregulationstructure and functionreproductive fitnessgenotype to phenotypehomologs

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1270

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166

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Central Dogma, Dictionaries, and Functions: Using Programming Concepts to Simulate Biological Processes

Technologies like next-generation sequencing, proteomics, and high-throughput phenotyping have transformed the way we do biology. There is a continued need for scientists with computational skills to analyze biological data while understanding the...

Courses: Bioinformatics

computationpythonJupyter notebookFunctionscentral dogmaDictionaries

Teaching Tools and Strategies

857

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A Team-Based Approach to Course Development Involving Undergraduate Researchers

Development of an undergraduate laboratory course can be a challenge, because of the need to balance both logistical and pedagogical considerations. We piloted a team-based approach to developing this type of course and found it to be advantageous...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Bioinformatics Genetics Microbiology Science Process Skills