This lab is an updated, stand-alone version of the bioinformatics exercise originally developed for Bio 3055 at Washington University. This exercise introduces students to the genetic basis of disease using the KRas protein.
Students use grasshoppers collected from glades in the Missouri Ozarks to generate and analyze sequence data to determine if the grasshopper populations are becoming fragmented due to the suppression of forest fires. Sequence data are provided here so students who do not have access to grasshoppers can still perform the sequence analysis portion of the lab.
Students use two different protocols, one based on sequence analysis and one based on biochemistry, to determine the identity of an unknown bacterial strain.
This lab provides an opportunity for students to randomly clone a fragment of the yeast genome into E. coli and then investigate what part of the genome they have cloned through sequence analysis.
Dr. Justin R. DiAngelo (Penn State Berks) has developed an exercise for the Sanger Sequencing and Next Generation Sequencing video tours.
Ms. Julie Ertmann (University City High School, MO) has designed a standalone activity using BLAST for AP or second year high school biology students. This exercise uses BLAST and ExPASy for genetic and protein analysis of H1N1 variability, including mutations that confer resistance to antiviral medications. Development of this exercise was supported by an NSF Mathematics and Science Partnership grant #06344780, to B Schaal, Washington University in St. Louis. If you have questions about this activity, please email the author at: jertmann@ucityschools.org.
Students use the HIV Problem Space on the BioQuest BEDROCK Website to investigate whether a specific HIV mutation can be correlated with a decline in immune system function. In order to perform this analysis, students must generate and analyze multiple sequence alignments of HIV sequences generated from the ALIVE study.
