Improvement of Undergraduate Molecular Biology Laboratory Curriculum

本科生分子生物学实验课程的改进

• 批准号: 9651311
• 负责人: Ulf Sorhannus
• 金额: $ 2.06万
• 依托单位: Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-07-01 至 1998-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9651311&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Improvement; Undergraduate; Molecular; Biology; Laboratory

The primary objective of the Molecular Phylogeny project is to introduce a unifying concept into several courses in the curriculum. It is inculcating a thorough understanding of evolutionary concepts by complementing traditional teaching styles, concepts, and materials with modern approaches, including discovery-based learning, modern phylogenetic approaches, and the materials and methods used by scientists in the field. Instruction in molecular evolution and phylogenetic analysis begins in the freshman course with a discovery-based exercise on the classification and evolution of organisms. Students are given the 5S rRNA sequences of several invertebrates, asked to make pairwise comparisons between species, and asked to construct plausible evolutionary trees. Discordance between morphological- and molecular-based phylogenies are discussed. In this exercise, students develop an intuitive grasp of the principles of molecular phylogeny that will be studied in detail in later courses. As a follow-up to this exercise and a prerequisite to subsequent studies, students are given an introduction to molecular biology databases and software on the Internet. Specifically, they are directed to the NIH and EMBL, the Ribosomal Database Project, and the CLUSTALW and PHYLIP programs. Homework assignments involve searching and aligning selected 5.8S rRNA and short polypeptide sequences. In Botany, students explore the relationships among nonvascular and vascular plants using small and large subunit rRNAs and rbcL sequences. They obtain sequences from the GenBank, align them using CLUSTALW, then construct phylogenetic trees using PHYLIP. The students are guided extensively through this exercise as they test a model of plant evolution. In Zoology, students re-explore the relationships among phyla begun in the freshman class, as they look in more detail at specific issues in animal evolution. In advanced courses, the principal investigators work with the instructors to identify discipline-specific p roblems for student exploration. Students are encouraged to develop problems using models from the literature. Directed research projects are becoming possible through the acquisition of DNA sequencing equipment. Specific projects enable undergraduate students to investigate problems in diatom, ciliate, and crustacean evolution under the direction of experts in these areas. Results from the project can be disseminated through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania University Biologists, on-line bulletin boards, and traditional education journals. Other universities that still have a traditional organismic bias to their freshman and sophomore curricula can make the transition to a concept-based curriculum more smoothly if they proceed as this project.

分子系统学项目的主要目标是将一个统一的概念引入课程中的几门课程。 它通过补充传统的教学风格，概念和材料与现代方法，包括基于发现的学习，现代系统发育方法以及科学家在该领域使用的材料和方法，灌输对进化概念的透彻理解。 在分子进化和系统发育分析教学开始在大一课程与发现为基础的练习生物体的分类和进化。 学生将获得几种无脊椎动物的5S rRNA序列，要求在物种之间进行成对比较，并要求构建合理的进化树。 之间的不一致性形态和分子为基础的遗传学进行了讨论。 在这个练习中，学生将对分子遗传学的原理有一个直观的掌握，这将在以后的课程中详细研究。 作为本练习的后续练习和后续研究的先决条件，学生将了解互联网上的分子生物学数据库和软件。 具体来说，他们是针对NIH和EMBL，核糖体数据库项目，CLUSTALW和PHYLIP程序。 家庭作业包括搜索和比对选定的5.8S rRNA和短多肽序列。 在植物学中，学生使用小和大亚基rRNA和rbcL序列探索非维管和维管植物之间的关系。 他们从GenBank中获得序列，使用CLUSTALW进行比对，然后使用PHYLIP构建系统发育树。 学生们通过这个练习得到广泛的指导，因为他们测试了植物进化的模型。 在动物学，学生重新探索门之间的关系开始在新生类，因为他们更详细地看在动物进化的具体问题。 在高级课程中，主要研究人员与教师合作，为学生探索确定特定学科的课程。 鼓励学生使用文献中的模型开发问题。 通过购买DNA测序设备，定向研究项目正在成为可能。 具体的项目使本科生能够在这些领域的专家指导下调查硅藻，纤毛虫和甲壳类动物进化中的问题。 该项目的结果可以通过宾夕法尼亚大学生物学家，在线公告板和传统教育期刊的联邦传播。其他大学仍然有一个传统的器官偏见，他们的大一和大二的课程可以使过渡到一个概念为基础的课程更顺利，如果他们继续这个项目。