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Bacteriophage as instructional organisms in introductory biology labs.

Bacteriophage, ISSN: 2159-7073, Vol: 4, Issue: 1, Page: e27336
2014
  • 1
    Citations
  • 0
    Usage
  • 19
    Captures
  • 2
    Mentions
  • 0
    Social Media
Metric Options:   Counts1 Year3 Year

Metrics Details

  • Citations
    1
  • Captures
    19
  • Mentions
    2
    • References
      2
      • 2

Article Description

Designing lab exercises for introductory biology classes requires balancing the need for students to obtain results with a desire to provide unpredictable outcomes to better approximate actual research. Bacteriophage are particularly well suited for this as many species are well-understood but, with their hosts, represent a relatively complex interacting system. I have designed a seven week series of lab exercises that allow students to select bacteriophage resistant mutant hosts, isolate and sequence the corresponding receptor gene to identify the specific bacterial mutation from a large number of potential mutations. I also examined the possibility of collecting useful mutant strains for other studies. After two semesters, the lab series is working well with over 90% of students successfully isolating mutant bacteria and about half identifying the specific mutation. Here I discuss the advantages of using bacteriophage in an introductory class, the specific labs in this series and future plans.

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