Two new lab courses to fulfill Science and Technology content area. The courses can be taken—in either order—as a two-semester series. However, students are not required to take both courses to fulfill the requirement. Please keep these courses in mind when working with students at orientation.
MCB 1895. Virus Hunting Laboratory (will be MCB 1200 after fall 2018).
Four credits. Two 50-minute lecture periods and two 3-hour lab periods with additional follow up time available based on experimental need.
Bacterial viruses, or bacteriophages, have vast genetic diversity and potential therapeutic value that has only begun to be explored. As part of a world-wide effort to better understand bacteriophage diversity and evolution, local environmental samples will be used as a source for the isolation, characterization and genome sequencing of new bacteriophages. Students are direct participants in this scientific discovery with focus on research methods and approaches, experimental design, data interpretation, and written and oral communication of scientific findings.
The purpose of this course is to introduce beginning students to an authentic research experience early in their undergraduate career. GEOC approval will be sought once the course is listed under a non-Special Topics number. The program has been developed as part of a national effort by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science Education Alliance to improve science education. The Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program provides a well-established framework in which each student will isolate novel bacteriophages from soil samples. The students will purify and characterize the bacteriophages using established microbiological techniques. One or two DNA samples from bacteriophages selected by the class will be sent to HHMI for genome sequencing. These genomes will be used for the subsequent class in the two-semester series.
MCB 1201. Virus Hunting: Applied Bioinformatics
Four credits. Two 50-minute lecture periods and two 3-hour lab periods with additional follow up time available based on experimental need.
Bacterial viruses, or bacteriophages, are among the most abundant biological entities on the planet, yet they remain poorly characterized. Computational biology approaches including genome assembly, phylogenetic analysis and database searching will be used to characterize the gene content and evolutionary relationships of bacteriophages isolated by students in MCB 1200; Phage Hunting Laboratory. Students are direct participants in this scientific discovery with focus on research methods and approaches, data interpretation, and written and oral communication of scientific findings.
For more information, contact: Sharyn Rusch at sharyn.rusch@uconn.edu