Integrating experience with databases, bioinformatics, and wet lab exercises for students in an introductory genetics...

Area of Science:

• Genetics Education
• Bioinformatics
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Undergraduate students often lack exposure to publicly available genomic and proteomic databases.
• Developing skills in accessing and applying biological data is crucial for scientific development.
• Traditional teaching methods may not adequately prepare students for data-driven research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement a teaching laboratory for undergraduate Genetics students.
• To integrate computational biology exercises with wet lab experiments.
• To teach students how to apply genomic data to address a specific scientific question.

Main Methods:

• Students explored publicly available databases like the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes.
• Bioinformatic exercises involved identifying target proteins, encoding RNA, and DNA sequences.
• Wet lab component included designing primers, performing reverse transcription PCR, and analyzing results via agarose gel electrophoresis.

Main Results:

• The laboratory successfully combined computational exploration with practical molecular biology techniques.
• Students gained experience in utilizing diverse biological databases for research.
• The integrated approach aimed to enhance student engagement and understanding of genomic data application.

Conclusions:

• The described teaching laboratory effectively equips students with essential skills in bioinformatics and genomics.
• Combining "seeing" and "doing" fosters deeper comprehension and practical application of biological data.
• This pedagogical approach is expected to stimulate further student interest in molecular biology and data science.