Abstract
The Genomics Education Partnership (GEP) is a collaboration between faculty from over 100 diverse institutions with the goal of providing authentic course‐based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) in bioinformatics and genomics for undergraduate students. The GEP faculty have developed curricula for undergraduates at all levels that allow faculty to implement bioinformatics instruction and research within their courses. The research projects have primarily focused on the comparative genomics of the Muller F element (dot chromosome) in several Drosophila species. This chromosome is unusual in that it is largely heterochromatic, but contains ca. 80 genes that are expressed at levels similar to those found in euchromatin. Our students have focused on sequence improvement (finishing), and the annotation of protein‐coding genes and transcription start sites. Through these evolutionary comparisons, we are gaining insights into the regulation of gene expression within this heterochromatic environment. Our most recent paper on the expansion of the Drosophila ananassae F element includes 239 undergraduate students and 31 faculty co‐authors. Our faculty and student surveys, pre/post‐quiz results, and focus groups suggest that students gain the most from CUREs when faculty treat them like members of a research team. They also learn through formative failures — when challenges arise that must be resolved. In addition to research projects, we are developing new curricula, such as the “Understanding Eukaryotic Genes” modules, designed to familiarize beginning students with genome browsers while teaching eukaryotic gene structure, and units on Hidden Markov Models and Dynamic Programming for more advanced students. The GEP is collaborating with Galaxy to create G‐OnRamp (http://gonramp.org), a workflow that constructs UCSC Assembly Hubs and JBrowse genome browsers for newly sequenced eukaryotic genomes. G‐OnRamp enables faculty to engage students in novel annotation projects from a variety of organisms (e.g., Puerto Rican parrot, parasitoid wasps). If interested in participating in a grant‐supported workshop either June 12–15 or July 16–19, 2018 to learn to use G‐OnRamp, contact Sarah Elgin (selgin@wustl.edu).Support or Funding InformationSupported by NSF IUSE #1431407 and NIH R25GM119157 to SCRE.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.
Published Version
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