Developing and Disseminating New Laboratories in RNAi and Functional Genomics

在过去的15年里，已经实施了许多实验室来说明微生物和分子遗传学的基本概念。人类基因组计划的完成向教师提出了挑战，要求他们将实验室教学转移到更高水平的生物整合，即真核生物中基因和蛋白质的功能分析。该项目正在开发一个调查实验室和生物信息学练习模块，让学生学习RNA介导的遗传干扰(RNAi)和基于计算机的基因组分析等新技术。尽管在模式生物秀丽线虫(C.elegans)中的RNAi实验为在生物水平上检测基因功能提供了一种强大的手段，但该实验系统足够简单和强大，可以加入细菌转化和凝胶电泳作为大学教学实验室的支柱。最重要的是，在学习了基本的RNAi技术后，学生们可以利用免费可用的资源来设计他们自己的实验，以探索线虫预测的19427个基因中的几乎任何一个的功能。这项提议代表了Dolan DNA学习中心(DNALC)的工作人员、2年制和4年制大学的教师以及冷泉港实验室(CSHL)的科学家之间的合作，他们已经开创了RNAi技术和生物信息学资源。一个由来自不同地理位置的大学教职员工组成的顾问小组将参与该项目的所有方面，包括开发和测试。新开发的模块将在全国各地举行的研讨会上介绍给生物学教师和高中生物教师，并由他们进行批评。在这个项目中开发的教学和生物信息学资源将通过DNALC.s WWW网站、冷泉港实验室出版社和卡罗莱纳生物供应公司进行传播。

Over the past 15 years, many laboratories have been implemented that illustrate basic concepts of microbial and molecular genetics. The completion of the Human Genome Project challenges teachers to move laboratory instruction to a higher level of biological integration, the functional analysis of genes and proteins in eukaryotic organisms. This project is developing a module of investigative laboratories and bioinformatics exercises that engage students in the new technologies of RNA-mediated genetic interference (RNAi) and computer-based genome analysis. Although RNAi experiments in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) offer a powerful means to examine gene function at the organismal level, the experimental system is simple and robust enough to join bacterial transformation and gel electrophoresis as a mainstay of the college teaching laboratory. Most importantly, after learning basic RNAi techniques, students can make use of freely available resources to design their own experiments to explore the function of virtually any of the predicted 19,427 genes of C. elegans. This proposal represents a collaboration among staff at the Dolan DNA Learning Center (DNALC), faculty at 2- and 4-year colleges, and scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) who have pioneered RNAi technology and bioinformatics resources. An Advisory Panel of college faculty from diverse geographic locations will be involved in all aspects of the project, including development and testing. Newly developed modules will be introduced to and critiqued by biology faculty and high school biology teachers at workshops held at a variety of sites around the nation. Instructional and bioinformatics resources developed in this project will be disseminated via the DNALC.s WWW site, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, and Carolina Biological Supply Company.