Genomics Education

(9/1/2003-8/31/2006)

Genomics-based Biotechnology Education (USDA CSREES # 2003-38411-13494)

Collaborating Institutions and Key Faculty:
University of Missouri-Columbia (MU)
Dr. Shari Freyermuth (lead PI)
Dr. Bruce McClure
Dr. Gerald Hazelbauer
University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA)
Dr. Cheryl Kerfeld
Dr. L. Jeanne Perry
Salisbury University (SU)
Dr. Mark Holland
Dr. Kim Hunter
Dr. Les Erickson
Dr. John Egan

This project addresses two needs of undergraduate life science students in the 21st century: 1) the new and urgent need to incorporate genomics into the curriculum, and 2) the long-standing need to better integrate research into the undergraduate experience. The goal of this project is to develop and test biotechnology and genomics curricula for students majoring in life science. Our curricula includes both an EST project to identify sequences involved in pollen-pistil recognition and a photosynthetic microbial genome-sequencing project. Both projects are being accomplished by undergraduates; in our collaboration, life science majors are gaining real experience in genomics-based research while they learn. Together, our institutions are well positioned to design and implement materials applicable to a variety of circumstances and contexts.


Students isolate plasmid DNA for sequencing from a genomic library 

The project draws on the experiences and characters of three institutions. The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) is a major provider of agricultural education in Missouri. Salisbury University (SU) is a primarily undergraduate teaching institution. The University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) a large, urban research institution. Combining the experiences and perspectives from our three institutions as we develop these genomics-based biotechnology curricula ensures wide applicability and easy adoption by other institutions.

At MU, these curricular materials are used in Biochemistry 1090: Contemporary Topics in Biochemistry with an annual enrollment of ~55 and Biochemistry 4374: Molecular Biology Laboratory with an annual enrollment of ~ 15. At UCLA, the materials are used in the core course Life Sciences 187: Principles and Practices of Genomic Research, which enrolls 20 students for each of the three academic quarters. In addition, the materials are also used in Life Sciences 3: Introduction to Molecular Biology with an annual enrollment of ~750; General Education 71: Biotechnology and Society with an annual enrollment of ~140; Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology 104:
Techniques in Molecular and Cell Biology with an annual enrollment of ~ 100; and Microbiology, Immunology, Molecular Biology and Genetics 120: Advanced Techniques in Microbiology with an annual enrollment of ~20. At SU, these curricular materials are used in six biology courses: Biol 101: Introductory Biology (non-majors), Biol 210: Introductory Biology (majors), Biol 350: Cell Biology, Biol 360: Genetic Analysis, Biol 370: Molecular Genetics, and Biol 440: Contemporary Genetics. All together, these courses have an annual enrollment of ~900 students.

There are two separate projects integrated into the curricula. One involves a microbial sequencing project which is designed to give undergraduates hands-on experience acquiring, understanding, and using genomic data. This project introduces students to prokaryotic genomes, DNA sequencing and accessing and using genome databases. The project is explained in further detail here.

The second project involves undergraduates in a small-scale expressed sequence tag (EST) project to identify sequences involved in pollen-pistil recognition. The project is explained in further detail here.

The effectiveness of the curricula will be assessed over time by monitoring student enrollment and satisfaction as well as student learning. Evaluation page