This project was prepared as part of a BioQUEST faculty development workshop entitled Bioinformatics in Biology Education: Working with Sequence, Structure and Function at Cornell University in October 2003. The BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium is committed to the reform of undergraduate biology instruction through an emphasis on engaging students in realistic scientific practices. This approach is sometimes characterized as an inquiry driven approach and is captured in BioQUEST's three P's (problem-posing, problem-solving, and peer-persuasion). As part of this workshop groups of faculty were encouraged to initiate innovative curricular projects. We are sharing these works in progress in the hope that they will stimulate further exploration, collaboration and development. Please see the following links for additional information:
|
|
|
Biology undergraduates
Arabidopsis thaliana is a dicot for which a complete genome sequence is available. The plant seems to have an unusually large number of genes coding for proteolytic enzymes. These genes belong to a few multi-gene families. Among these is the multi-gene family representing the FtsH proteases, typified by the presence of an ATP-binding domain and energy requirement coming from ATP hydrolysis. Oryza sativa (rice) is a monocot for which a complete genome sequence has only recently been completed. The presence of such information allows us to ask the question: Did the multiple FtsH proteases of Arabidopsis thaliana arise before or after divergence of the monocots and dicots?
Poster, as MS-Word .doc file, attached
Sakamoto W, Tamura T, Hanba-Tomita Y, Murata M; Sodmergen. The VAR1 locus of Arabidopsis encodes a chloroplastic FtsH and is responsible for leaf variegation in the mutant alleles. Genes Cells. 2002 Aug;7(8):769-80. Bailey S, Thompson E, Nixon PJ, Horton P, Mullineaux CW, Robinson C, Mann NH. A critical role for the Var2 FtsH homologue of Arabidopsis thaliana in the photosystem II repair cycle in vivo. J Biol Chem. 2002 Jan 18;277(3):2006-11. Epub 2001 Nov 20. Bailey S, Silva P, Nixon P, Mullineaux C, Robinson C, Mann N. Auxiliary functions in photosynthesis: the role of the FtsH protease. Biochem Soc Trans. 2001 Aug;29(Pt 4):455-9. Lindahl M, Spetea C, Hundal T, Oppenheim AB, Adam Z, Andersson B. The thylakoid FtsH protease plays a role in the light-induced turnover of the photosystem II D1 protein. Plant Cell. 2000 Mar;12(3):419-31.