Biological Sciences 211 (BSCI211) Genetics Laboratory Spring 2004
Syllabus & Schedule of Experiments
Instructor: Mark A. Woelfle, PhD 2121B Stevenson Center 343 - 4508 [email protected] Office hours: M, 4 – 5 pm or by appointment
Teaching Assistants: Jennifer Osterhage 2425 Stevenson Center 322 - 5146 [email protected] Office hours: W, 2:30 – 3:30 pm or by appointment
Michelle Jacobs 8154 BSB/MRBIII 936 - 1687 [email protected] Office hours: T, 10 – 11 am or by appointment
Times/Location: section 01 T 1:10 – 4 pm (Osterhage) section 02 W 1:10 – 4 pm (Jacobs) section 03 M 1:10 – 4 pm (Woelfle)
All laboratory sections meet in 2121 Stevenson Center.
Course Policies:
Attendance in lab is required; unexcused absences will result in a reduction of your course grade. If you are absent due to illness or family emergency, please contact Dr. Woelfle.
You may be required to come to the lab at times other than your regularly scheduled lab period. The lab is open to students Monday – Friday, 8 am – 5 pm. A teaching assistant is not available during these times; if you need help, please ask one of the staff members or arrange to have your TA meet you in the lab. It is your responsibility to make sure that all tasks are completed at the appropriate times!
All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the dates indicated on the schedule. Assignments that are turned in after the due date are subject to a deduction of 10% for each day that the assignment is past due.
The Honor Code governs all assignments in this course. Although you will collaborate with other students in the completion of tasks and the collection of data, all data analysis, interpretation and written reports must be the product of your own efforts.
Supplies:
There is no text or lab manual for this course; however you may find it helpful to refer to your text from BSCI 210. Background readings and experimental protocols will be posted on Blackboard. Experimental data when applicable will also be posted on Blackboard.
You should purchase either a bound laboratory notebook or a 1” three-ring binder and a data pad for use in this course; you will be expected to keep a current, complete, and organized laboratory notebook.
Grades:
Your final grade in this course will be based on:
Lab Reports (3 @ 15% each) 45% Lab notebook 20% Drosophila Linkage Map Project & Report 20% Presentation 15%
A. Lab Reports
1. Purpose & Plan: A statement of why the experiment is being done (i.e., what is being tested, what question is being asked?) and how (i.e., what techniques were used and why). This section should not exceed 1/2 page.
2. Results: This section will contain all data (organized in tables) and any data analysis and/or calculations. All tables and graphs need to be clearly labeled and annotated! Label each part of a figure clearly and explicitly (don’t make us guess what we’re looking at). It is also important to explain any data analysis that was performed. If you performed a statistical test, state the hypothesis that was being tested and how the test was performed. If you performed any calculations, explain the purpose of the calculation and indicate the origin of the input data.
3. Conclusions: You should provide a brief (1 page, maximum) interpretation of your results; what exactly do your results show? How do your results address the purpose of the experiment or answer the question that was asked? What experiment would you do next?
B. Lab Notebook
Your lab notebook will be examined at the end of the semester and will be evaluated based on its organization, completeness and accuracy. Each experiment should be given its own section in your notebook; the pages should be numbered and a table of contents at the beginning of the notebook should contain all page numbers covering a given experiment. Each experiment in your notebook should have a brief outline or flow chart of the procedures followed. All data should also contain a brief description explaining how it was collected and why. Numerical data should be contained in tables that are clearly labeled with a table number and legend if appropriate. All figures (graphs, photographs, etc.) should be numbered and have a brief legend explaining the figure.
All data entries should be dated.
If you have specific questions regarding how to best organize your notebook, please ask your teaching assistant for help.
C. Drosophila Linkage Map Project & Report
Over the course of the semester, your lab group will map 4 different mutations that give rise to different eye phenotypes to their chromosomal locations in Drosophila. In addition, the recombination distance between one of these mutations and a known chromosomal marker will be determined.
A summary report of your linkage analysis will be due the week of April 11, 2005. This report will contain a summary of:
The phenotype of each of the eye mutations The inheritance pattern of each mutation (i.e., dominant or recessive) The chromosomal location of each eye mutation (i.e., chromosome 1, 2, 3, or 4)
To support your conclusions above, you should provide a description of the crosses performed for each mutant trait and the reasoning/prediction underlying each cross. You must report the experimental result of each cross and 2 analysis (comparison to predicted Mendelian ratio).
You will also report the results of your recombination mapping of one of the four eye mutations with a known chromosomal locus. You should summarize the crosses performed, the reasoning/predictions underlying each cross and report the results with 2 analysis.
D. Presentation
Presentations will be in class during the final lab period of the semester (April 18 – 20, 2005). Each student will explain the background, results and conclusions for any of the experiments performed this semester, excluding the Drosophila Linkage Map Project. Each student will be allotted 6 - 8 minutes, with 1 – 2 minutes for questions from the audience. Presentations can consist of either Powerpoint slides or as overheads. Presentations will be evaluated based on organization, clarity, understanding of the experimental background, and explanation of results and conclusions. Tentative Schedule:
January 17 – 19 Course Introduction
January 24 – 26 Drosophila Linkage Map Project – Set up Parental crosses
January 31 – February 2 Sex & species specific differences in GLD expression (lab report)
February 7 – 9 Drosophila Linkage Map Project – Analyze F1 progeny, set up F1 crosses Lab report I due (Sex & species specific GLD expression)
February 14 – 16 DNA fingerprinting – PCR amplification of TPA25 locus
February 21 – 23 Drosophila Linkage Map Project – Analyze results of F1 crosses; determine chromosomal locations of each mutation
DNA fingerprinting – Multilocus PCR amplification
February 28 – March 2 Drosophila Linkage Map Project – Set up crosses to determine chromosomal linkage of sepia/ebony mutations
DNA fingerprinting – Genotypic analysis of TPA25 locus PCR products; analysis of multilocus PCR products
March 7 – 9 Spring Break
March 14 – 16 Drosophila Linkage Map Project – Analysis of F1 progeny, set up F1 crosses Lab report II due (DNA fingerprinting)
March 21 – 23 Construction of Yeast bar1 knock-out mutant
March 28 – 30 Drosophila Linkage Map Project – Analysis of F2 progeny, determination of recombination frequency
April 4 – 6 Yeast bar1 knock-out mutant
April 11 – 13 Analysis of phenotype of yeast bar1 knock-out mutant Drosophila Linkage Map Project report due
April 18 – 20 Presentations Lab report III due (Yeast bar1 knock-out mutant) Lab notebook due