Application of a bacterial experimental evolution system to visualize and teach evolution in action: A course-based undergraduate research experience.

ABSTRACT: Concepts of evolution are typically taught through examples of extremely long timescales, which do not always resonate broadly. Here, we describe a course-based undergraduate research experience tailored for junior and senior undergraduate biology majors. Students visualize and learn in real-time how evolution can operate in bacteria in response to problems associated with a high-density lifestyle. Students directly evolve mutant strains, conduct whole genome sequencing to identify the causal mutations, carry out bioinformatics analysis to predict molecular consequences of the mutations, engineer their mutants to become antibiotic-resistant, and compete them head-to-head in a class-wide round-robin tournament to infer the properties of natural selection. The presented format is designed fo

SUBMITTER: Kessler C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10121199 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature