ERIC Number: EJ1202238
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Jan
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Unnatural Chemical Biology: Research-Based Laboratory Course Utilizing Genetic Code Expansion
Kean, Kelsey M.; van Zee, Kari; Mehl, Ryan A.
Journal of Chemical Education, v96 n1 p66-74 Jan 2019
The content and design scheme for a readily adaptable, research-based laboratory course in chemical biology are presented. In this course, students interrogate protein structure and function using the site-specific incorporation of noncanonical amino acids by genetic code expansion. The relatively new field of genetic code expansion enables protein engineering with a diverse array of chemical functional groups. In this quarter or semester research-based undergraduate laboratory experience, student teams design, synthesize, and evaluate the structure-function relationships of proteins containing noncanonical amino acids on the basis of a self-selected hypothesis and then communicate their results in a formal manuscript and research presentation. The flexibility and versatility of genetic code expansion and this course structure empower students to engineer novel biomolecules and highlight the use of organic-chemistry principles for interrogating proteins. Generating noncanonical protein variants that have never been produced previously exposes students to novel research and trains them in essential basic biochemistry skills. This research-based undergraduate laboratory course can easily be adapted, scaled, and implemented on the basis of the interests, demographics, and resources of a given institution.
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Biochemistry, Science Laboratories, Genetics, Organic Chemistry, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Hands on Science, Inquiry, College Science, Undergraduate Study
Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A