| Lab number | Date (week of) | Topic | In-class activity | Assignment | Powerpoint | Lab manual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 9th | Introduction to coral symbiosis | Class Introduction, Syllabus discussion, Lecture on coral symbiosis and goals of the lab. Microscopic observation of anemones. | Lecture 1 - introduction and coral symbiosis | Lab manual |
|
| 2 | September 16th | Molecular biology skills; UV mutagenesis of Breviolum | Practicing pipetting technique; Exposure of Breviolum algae to UV radiation to create mutations | Class exercise Pipetting tutorial 1 Pipetting tutorial 2 | Breviolum mutagenesis | |
| 3 | September 23rd | UV mutagenesis of Breviolum (cont.); Anemone observation and stress challenge | Plating of Breviolum Plate mutagenized Symbiodinaceae on selective media to screen for URA3 knockouts. Plating Symbiodinium on 5-FOA Meet your anemone; Anemone Stress Challenge Protocol | Anemone stress challenge | ||
| 4 | September 30th | DNA extraction | Score phenotype of anemone stress challenge. Extract DNA from the Anemone. Protocol for DNA extraction | Lecture on DNA extraction Lab notebook due | ||
| 5 | October 7th | PCR amplification | Lecture on PCR. Amplify PCR products for gel electrophoresis and sequencing PCR reaction for SCAR and 23S | Review PCR lecture | PCR lecture | |
| 6 | October 14th | Gel electrophoresis | Lecture on electrophoresis. Make, load, run and view the gel. Interpret results Gel electrophoresis video lecture How to make a gel (Video demo) Protocol for gel electrophoresis | |||
| 7 | October 21st | Cycle sequencing (Sanger sequencing) | Lecture on Sanger sequencing. Video on DNA Sequencing Perform PCR cleanup and cycle-sequence product with BigDye kit. Mutagenesis of Symbiodinium PCR clean-up, BigDye and mutagenesis protocol | Updated lab manual (week of 10/21) | ||
| 8 | October 28th | Observation of plates for Breviolum mutagenesis | Algae counts | Updated lab manual (week of 10/28) | ||
| 9 | November 4th | DNA sequence analysis and bioinformatics | DNA Sequence – Data Quality Assessment Sequence Analysis and Bioinformatics 23S curated sequences | Bring a computer. Gather information for presentations and update lab notebook. | ||
| Veteran's Day | November 11th | No classes | ||||
| 10 | November 18th | Communicating Research Results | Rubric for oral presentations | Lab notebook due. Study sheet sent out by TAs. | ||
| Thanksgiving | November 25th | No classes | ||||
| 11 | December 2nd | Final exam |
This schedule is subject to change, so we encourage you to check this page every week to prepare for the upcoming lab!