Collaborative Undergraduate Research Laboratory (CURL): Engaging Students in Research Using Yeast Molecular Genetics

Abstract

A growing body of data suggests that undergraduate research enhances the learning experience of students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Moreover, these data also show that engaging undergraduate students in research enhances student learning outcomes and the likelihood of their retention in science. We have developed a course, the CURL, to engage freshman undergraduate students in research‐based scientific learning. The course was constructed to eliminate the need for prerequisite courses by blending classroom learning and hands‐on laboratory experiments so that students reinforce their understanding of the material by applying it to solve real‐world research problems. The students performed the experiments in pairs, built their own hypotheses, and presented their work both orally and in written form.The research problem we addressed was to understand the role of DExH/D‐box ATPases in pre‐mRNA splicing. To this end, the CURL students carried out a screen to identify suppressors of the yeast temperature sensitive (ts) mutant prp2‐1 using a yeast transposon library. Prp2 is a DExH/D‐box ATPase and an essential component of the splicing machinery. Suppressor screening has not been previously carried out, so we anticipate that the results of the screen could lead to novel insights into the mechanism of Prp2 activity, which could be pursued beyond the course and would be of interest to the broader scientific community. The mutant prp2‐1 cells grow at the permissive temperature (25°C) but are unable to grow at the non‐permissive temperature (35°C). We have isolated a number of suppressors of prp2‐1, which grow at the non‐permissive temperature and suppress the splicing defects of prp2‐1 mutant when cells are grown at 35°C. Identification of the suppressors is being performed by next generation sequencing. This study provides first‐year undergraduate students with a rigorous, guided research experience with the goal of enhancing their self‐identification as researchers, while simultaneously addressing a fundamental scientific question.Support or Funding InformationThis works is supported by HHMI (HHMI program award to T.L.J)