Ho Pao Chrystal, Choi Sou-Cheng T, Lok Shu Yun, Dorrough Storm, Abelseth Connie, Shelton Joyce, Rentas Angelo
Department of Biology and Chemistry, Trinity International University, Deerfield, Illinois, USA.
Department of Applied Mathematics, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2021 Jun 30;22(2). doi: 10.1128/jmbe.00136-21. eCollection 2021 Fall.
American Society for Microbiology Curriculum Guidelines highlight the importance of enabling students to think critically and learn by doing research. Moreover, information in biology, especially genetics and biotechnology, increases too rapidly for instructors to teach everything. To increase students' interest and comprehension of important core genetic concepts and to encourage students to practice scientific investigation, we designed a research module for upper-level biology/genetics students to examine oral bacteria. Students extracted their own oral microbial DNA and amplified and analyzed with general genus- and species-specific 16S rRNA PCR primers. The microbial DNA samples were also amplified with conserved bacteria 16S rRNA primers and the amplicons TOPO cloned (topoisomerase-based cloning) and Sanger sequenced. Lastly, the metagenomic microbial DNA samples were also sequenced by Illumina next-generation sequencing and analyzed with bioinformatics tools. We have implemented the module in three iterations of an undergraduate class at a small, liberal arts college. The project culminates in a poster presentation that the students on average performed in a high B range. Pre- and postsurvey analysis of student learning gains revealed significant student learning ( < 0.05 one-tailed, paired Wilcoxon signed ranked test, =23). Next, we surveyed student perceptions of the activity by a self-assessment. Significantly more than the medians, the students enjoyed the inquiry-driven module and considered it more effective in teaching about PCR and other molecular genetics concepts than the traditional prescribed laboratory exercises. We conclude that this microbe laboratory module induces research interest and is useful in teaching important genetics concepts.
美国微生物学会课程指南强调了让学生进行批判性思考并通过开展研究来学习的重要性。此外，生物学领域的信息，尤其是遗传学和生物技术方面的信息增长太快，教师无法讲授所有内容。为了提高学生对重要核心遗传学概念的兴趣和理解，并鼓励学生实践科学探究，我们为高年级生物学/遗传学专业的学生设计了一个研究模块，用于研究口腔细菌。学生提取自己口腔中的微生物DNA，并使用通用的属特异性和种特异性16S rRNA PCR引物进行扩增和分析。微生物DNA样本还使用保守的细菌16S rRNA引物进行扩增，扩增产物进行TOPO克隆（基于拓扑异构酶的克隆）并进行桑格测序。最后，宏基因组微生物DNA样本也通过Illumina下一代测序进行测序，并使用生物信息学工具进行分析。我们已在一所小型文理学院的本科课程的三个轮次中实施了该模块。该项目最终以海报展示的形式呈现，学生的展示平均成绩在B高段。对学生学习成果的课前和课后调查分析显示学生有显著的学习收获（单尾配对Wilcoxon符号秩和检验，P < 0.05，n = 23）。接下来，我们通过自我评估调查了学生对该活动的看法。与中位数相比，显著更多的学生喜欢这个探究驱动的模块，并认为它在教授PCR和其他分子遗传学概念方面比传统的规定实验室练习更有效。我们得出结论，这个微生物实验室模块激发了研究兴趣，并且在教授重要的遗传学概念方面很有用。
