The equipment provided through this award is improving the undergraduate laboratory for students enrolled in the intermediate-level Genetics course. One set of experiments is based on recombinant DNA technology (especially as it is applied to the sequencing of DNA), while a second set emphasizes gene product isolation and the genetic control of development. The work on recombinant DNA technology includes a number of steps which can be carried out conveniently in the structured laboratory setting. The essential simplicity of the experiments provides an experience which clarifies the section of the lecture program which emphasizes molecular genetics. These steps also introduce the students to several widely used physical methods (e.g., agarose and acrylamide gel electrophoresis, ultracentrifugation) and incorporate such standard biological techniques as transformation and replica plating in relevant ways. Gene product isolation from Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans introduces students to the biology of these widely studied organisms and to the characterization of proteins. The additional equipment secured through this award (electrophoresis units, high voltage power supply, microcentrifuge, sonicator, shaker bath, gel slab dryers, ultracentrifuge and rotor) permits students to perform these experiments in their logical order (rather than having the order imposed by equipment availability), in this way gaining an understanding of the many applications of molecular techniques to solving basic questions in Genetics.
