BIOL 707 Ð Biotechnology Workshop for Teachers

University of Wisconsin-River Falls

July 7-25, 2003

Rm. 217 Ag-Science

 

Instructors:    Karen Klyczek                        Scott Ballantyne                     Tim Buttles

                        Biology                                   Biology                                   Agriculture Education

                        UW-River Falls                       UW-River Falls                       UW-River Falls

                        Ph 715-425-3591                    Ph 715-425-3362                    Ph 715-425-3555

                        karen.k.klyczek@uwrf.edu             scott.m.ballantyne@uwrf.edu         timothy.j.buttles@uwrf.edu

 

Web site:        http://www.uwrf.edu/biotech/workshop/welcome.html

 

Catalog Course Description:

BIOL 707, 4 cr.

This course will illustrate basic concepts in biology used in biotechnology applications, and how these applications can be incorporated into science classes.  Hands-on lab activities include DNA isolation and fingerprinting, plant tissue culture, genetic engineering of bacteria, and fermentation of food. Labs include strategies for making demonstration-type labs more inquiry-based. Ethical and social issues raised by the use of these technologies will be illustrated using case studies and decision-making models.  

 

Core concepts covered:         DNA structure and function               Protein structure and function          

                                                DNA cloning and analysis                  Cell metabolism and fermentation

                                                Genetic inheritance, chromosomes     Mitosis and meiosis

                                               

General Daily Schedule:    9:00-11:00 AM                       Lecture/Discussion

                                                11:00-12:00 noon                    Lab prep; individual help

                                                12:00-1:00 PM                       Lunch; individual help

                                                1:00-3:00 PM                         Laboratory

 

Grading:                                Lab reports, 6 @ 25 points each        150 pts. (40%)

                                                Curriculum project                              100 pts. (27%)

                                                Exam                                                   100 pts. (27%)

                                                Sharing and participation                      25 pts. (6%)

 

Tentative scheudule of topics:

                                               

Mon. 7/7 (KK)

Lecture:  Introductions, Expectations, Overview of Biotechnology

                  Cell structure and chromosomes

 

Lab:  Chromosome analysis

                 

Tues. 7/8 (KK)

Lecture:  DNA structure and function

                 

Lab:  DNA isolation methods

 

Wed. 7/9 (KK)

Lecture:  DNA cloning  and analysis techniques

 

Lab:  Biotech and the environment; Isolating soil bacteria

á      extraction, dilution, and plating of soil samples on starch agar

á      detection of amylase activity on Thurs.

Work on curriculum projects

 

Thurs. 7/10 (KK)

Lecture:  DNA cloning and analysis techniques

 

Lab:  Transformation of bacteria by plasmid containing green fluorescent protein gene

 

Fri. 7/11 (SB)

Lecture:  Food  biotechnology

á      Fermentation and leavening

á      Meiotic and mitotic cell cycles

á      Budding yeast life cycle

 

Lab:   Making sourdough bread

á      biological vs. chemical leavening agents

á      mixed vs. single cultures

o      Sterile technique

o      Plate yeast for next week

á      how to properly pour beer containing yeast sediment

 

Mon. 7/14 (SB)

Lecture:  Genotypes and phenotypes

á      alleles - why is one yeast patch red and the other white?

á      dominance - what happens when the two yeast mate?

á      some phenotypes only detected under special conditions:

o      Nutritional mutations

o      Drug resistance

 

Lab:  Yeast sex Ð determining mating type

á      observe mating yeast with microscope

á      mate with your neighbors (yeast)

o      Replica plating

o      Nutritional selection

 

Tues. 7/15 (SB)

Lecture:  Reproductive biotechnology

á      germ cells vs. somatic cells

á      stem cells

á      in vitro fertilization

o      Agriculture

o      Zoos

o      humans

á      cloning

 

Lab:  in vitro fertilization of Xenopus eggs

á      observe isolated sperm and eggs

á      experiment with sperm storage conditions

o      compare motilitiy

o      compare fertility

 

Wed. 7/16 (SB)

Lecture:  PCR; fundamentals and applications

á      the basic idea

o      discovery

o      reagents required

á      applications

o      diagnosing genetic disease

o      forensics (CSI)

o      paternity testing

á      most applications focus on regions where DNA sequence differs

o      mutations

o      polymorphisms

á      detecting differences in DNA sequence

o      electrophoresis

o      sequencing

 

Lab:  human and dog cheek cell PCR

á      isolating template DNA

á      assembling the reaction

á      thermocycling (automated vs. manual)

 

Thurs. 7/17 (KK)

Lab:  Electrophoresis of PCR products

 

Lab:     Shoestring Biotechnology

Work on curriculum projects

 

Fri. 7/18 (KK)

Lecture:  Bioinformatics and the Human Genome project

 

Lab:  Case It!  computer simulations of genetic testing case studies

 

Mon. 7/21 (KK)

Lecture: Protein purification methods

 

Lab:  Isolation of GFP protein from transformed bacteria

 

Tues. 7/22 (KK)

Lecture: Antibodies and applied immunology

 

Lab:  Diagnostic test using antibodies

 

Wed. 7/23 (TB)

Lecture:  Genetic engineering of plants

 

Lab:  Plant tissue culture

Work on curriculum projects

 

Thurs. 7/24

 

Fri. 7/25