Using RNAi to Examine the Connection between Phenotype and Genotype in Caenorhabditis elegans to Enhance the Undergraduate Research Experience

Abstract

Gene expression plays a pivotal role in the development, differentiation, and maintenance of organisms by allowing genes to encode for an observable trait (i.e., phenotype). To understand the function of a particular gene, several approaches can be taken, ranging from removing the gene entirely to targeting the product of the gene (i.e., the protein). RNA interference (RNAi) has been shown to be a powerful approach used to silence gene activity and examine the connection between DNA and protein along with controlling gene expression. The course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) described in this article is a hands-on molecular biology lab–based lesson that allows students to examine the impact of RNAi on Caenorhabditis elegans reproduction and development through the examination of the central dogma of biology. Through these activities, students gain practice in the scientific method of inquiry by designing experiments to observe how genotype connects to phenotype and, subsequently, organism behavior.