Carr Stephanie A, Mathews Stephanie L, Pruneski Justin A, Stasulli Nikolas M
Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York, USA.
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2024 Dec 12;25(3):e0003924. doi: 10.1128/jmbe.00039-24. Epub 2024 Aug 16.
In this article, we describe curricular materials developed to engage undergraduate students in evolutionary thinking around antibiotic resistance using the MEGA-plate experiment (Microbial Evolution and Growth Arena). This elegant and visual experiment, developed by the Kishony Lab, shows the development of antibiotic resistance on the timescale of hours and days. It not only provides important biological insights but also captures students' attention, making it a very useful tool for education. While a short video describing the method and major results has already been widely used in the classroom setting, our case study connects details of the methods and results of the MEGA-plate experiment and antibiotic resistance to core biological concepts. The interrupted case study consists of four major parts: 1) an opening hook activity to capture students' attention and introduce the antibiotic crisis, 2) a jigsaw activity to research different classes of antibiotic targets and the resistance mechanisms that can arise, 3) a discussion of antibiotic resistance in real-time using the MEGA-plate experiment video, and 4) three different options for students to dive deeper into the experimental data from the MEGA-plate research article. These components are modular and can be used in many different combinations to reach different audiences or connect to other topics related to microbiology, evolution, or genetics.
在本文中，我们描述了所开发的课程材料，这些材料旨在通过MEGA平板实验（微生物进化与生长平台）让本科生参与围绕抗生素耐药性的进化思维。这个由基肖尼实验室开发的精妙且直观的实验，展示了数小时和数天时间尺度上抗生素耐药性的发展情况。它不仅提供了重要的生物学见解，还能吸引学生的注意力，使其成为一种非常有用的教育工具。虽然一个描述该方法和主要结果的短视频已在课堂上广泛使用，但我们的案例研究将MEGA平板实验的方法和结果细节以及抗生素耐药性与核心生物学概念联系了起来。这个中断式案例研究包括四个主要部分：1）一个开场吸引活动，以吸引学生的注意力并介绍抗生素危机；2）一个拼图活动，用于研究不同类别的抗生素靶点以及可能出现的耐药机制；3）使用MEGA平板实验视频实时讨论抗生素耐药性；4）为学生提供的三种不同选项，以便他们更深入地研究MEGA平板研究文章中的实验数据。这些组成部分是模块化的，可以以许多不同的组合方式使用，以面向不同的受众，或与其他与微生物学、进化或遗传学相关的主题相联系。
