VERHEY, STEVEN D.* AND STEVEN STEFANIDES. Department of Biology, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA 98926 (SDV); and Wenatchee Valley College, Wentachee, WA 98801 (SS). - The plastid genome project: integrated cell biology/molecular biology/genomics teaching laboratory.
It can be difficult to present courses in molecular techniques without
having the techniques seem prescribed, "cookbook," and
disembodied from the realities of the practice of science. It can
also be difficult to give students the sense of being part of a larger
research community, and of collecting data that will have value once
the course is finished and the student has moved on. In this series
of laboratory exercises, which lasts approximately one academic
quarter, students are introduced to numerous cellular and molecular
techniques as they isolate plastids, prepare plastid DNA, construct a
plastid DNA library, and sequence clones from the library. Using
their data and data from their classmates, students can carry out a
variety of self-designed analyses including ones based on genomics and
taxonomy. By connecting courses carrying out these exercises at
numerous institutions, it will be possible to sequence entire genomes
and build a literature of sequence, functional, genomic, taxonomic,
and proteomic data.
Key words: cell biology, genomics, molecular biology, plastid, taxonomy, teaching