A central support system can facilitate implementation and sustainability of a Classroom-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) in Genomics.

In their 2012 report, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology advocated "replacing standard science laboratory courses with discovery-based research courses"-a challenging proposition that presents practical and pedagogical difficulties. In this paper, we describe our collective experiences working with the Genomics Education Partnership, a nationwide faculty consortium that aims to provide undergraduates with a research experience in genomics through a scheduled course (a classroom-based undergraduate research experience, or CURE). We examine the common barriers encountered in implementing a CURE, program elements of most value to faculty, ways in which a shared core support system can help, and the incentives for and rewards of establishing a CURE on our diverse campuses. While some of the barriers and rewards are specific to a research project utilizing a genomics approach, other lessons learned should be broadly applicable. We find that a central system that supports a shared investigation can mitigate some shortfalls in campus infrastructure (such as time for new curriculum development, availability of IT services) and provides collegial support for change. Our findings should be useful for designing similar supportive programs to facilitate change in the way we teach science for undergraduates.

The transcription factor Mlc promotes Vibrio cholerae biofilm formation through repression of phosphotransferase system components.

The phosphoenol phosphotransferase system (PTS) is a multicomponent signal transduction cascade that regulates diverse aspects of bacterial cellular physiology in response to the availability of high-energy sugars in the environment. Many PTS components are repressed at the transcriptional level when the substrates they transport are not available. In Escherichia coli, the transcription factor Mlc (for makes large colonies) represses transcription of the genes encoding enzyme I (EI), histidine protein (HPr), and the glucose-specific enzyme IIBC (EIIBC(Glc)) in defined media that lack PTS substrates. When glucose is present, the unphosphorylated form of EIIBC(Glc) sequesters Mlc to the cell membrane, preventing its interaction with DNA. Very little is known about Vibrio cholerae Mlc. We found that V. cholerae Mlc activates biofilm formation in LB broth but not in defined medium supplemented with either pyruvate or glucose. Therefore, we questioned whether V. cholerae Mlc functions differently than E. coli Mlc. Here we have shown that, like E. coli Mlc, V. cholerae Mlc represses transcription of PTS components in both defined medium and LB broth and that E. coli Mlc is able to rescue the biofilm defect of a V. cholerae Δmlc mutant. Furthermore, we provide evidence that Mlc indirectly activates transcription of the vps genes by repressing expression of EI. Because activation of the vps genes by Mlc occurs under only a subset of the conditions in which repression of PTS components is observed, we conclude that additional inputs present in LB broth are required for activation of vps gene transcription by Mlc.

A course-based research experience: how benefits change with increased investment in instructional time.

There is widespread agreement that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs should provide undergraduates with research experience. Practical issues and limited resources, however, make this a challenge. We have developed a bioinformatics project that provides a course-based research experience for students at a diverse group of schools and offers the opportunity to tailor this experience to local curriculum and institution-specific student needs. We assessed both attitude and knowledge gains, looking for insights into how students respond given this wide range of curricular and institutional variables. While different approaches all appear to result in learning gains, we find that a significant investment of course time is required to enable students to show gains commensurate to a summer research experience. An alumni survey revealed that time spent on a research project is also a significant factor in the value former students assign to the experience one or more years later. We conclude: 1) implementation of a bioinformatics project within the biology curriculum provides a mechanism for successfully engaging large numbers of students in undergraduate research; 2) benefits to students are achievable at a wide variety of academic institutions; and 3) successful implementation of course-based research experiences requires significant investment of instructional time for students to gain full benefit.

Tagging and purifying proteins to teach molecular biology and advanced biochemistry.

Two distinct courses, "Molecular Biology" taught by the Biology Department and "Advanced Biochemistry" taught by the Chemistry Department, complement each other and, when taught in a coordinated and integrated way, can enhance student learning and understanding of complex material. "Molecular Biology" is a comprehensive lecture-based course with a 3-h laboratory once a week, while "Advanced Biochemistry" is a completely laboratory-based course with lecture fully integrated around independent student projects. Both courses emphasize and utilize cutting-edge technology. Teaching across departmental boundaries allows students access to faculty expertise and techniques rarely used at the undergraduate level, namely the tagging of proteins and their use in protein purification.