Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Methylothon: a versatile course-based high school research experience in microbiology and bioinformatics-- with pink bacteria

Peyton A. Jones, David Frischer, Shannon Mueller, Thomas Le, Anya Schwanes, Alekhya Govindaraju, Katie Shalvarjian, Jean-Baptiste Leducq, View ORCID ProfileChristopher J. Marx, View ORCID ProfileN. Cecilia Martinez-Gomez, View ORCID ProfileJessica A. Lee
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.09.08.459370
Peyton A. Jones
1Integrative Biology Program, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
David Frischer
2Abraham Lincoln High School, San Francisco, CA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Shannon Mueller
3Berkeley High School, Berkeley, CA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Thomas Le
4Molecular and Cell Biology Program, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Anya Schwanes
5Galileo High School, San Francisco, CA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Alekhya Govindaraju
6Plant and Microbial Biology Program, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Katie Shalvarjian
6Plant and Microbial Biology Program, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jean-Baptiste Leducq
7Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Christopher J. Marx
7Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Christopher J. Marx
N. Cecilia Martinez-Gomez
8Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for N. Cecilia Martinez-Gomez
Jessica A. Lee
9Laboratory for Research in Complex Systems, San Francisco, CA
10Space Biosciences Research Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Jessica A. Lee
  • For correspondence: jessica.audrey.lee@gmail.com
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Supplementary material
  • Data/Code
  • Preview PDF
Loading

ABSTRACT

Methylothon is an inquiry-based high school learning module in microbial ecology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics that centers around pink-pigmented plant-associated methylotrophic bacteria. Here we present an overview of the module’s learning goals, describe course resources (available for public use on http://methylothon.com), and relate lessons learned from adapting Methylothon for remote learning during the pandemic in spring of 2021. The original in-person version of the module allows students to isolate their own strains of methylotrophic bacteria from plants they sample from the environment, to identify these using PCR, sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis, and to contribute their strains to original research in a university lab. The adapted version strengthens the focus on bioinformatics and increases its flexibility and accessibility by making the lab portion optional and adopting free web-based tools. Student feedback and graded assignments from Spring 2021 revealed that the lesson was especially effective at introducing the concepts of BLAST and phylogenetic trees, and that students valued and felt inspired by the opportunity to conduct hands-on work and to participate in community science.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • Support for the present work: National Science Foundation Division of Environmental Biology, Dimensions of Biodiversity program (award 1831838)

  • Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • http://methylothon.com

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted September 09, 2021.
Download PDF

Supplementary Material

Data/Code
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Methylothon: a versatile course-based high school research experience in microbiology and bioinformatics-- with pink bacteria
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Methylothon: a versatile course-based high school research experience in microbiology and bioinformatics-- with pink bacteria
Peyton A. Jones, David Frischer, Shannon Mueller, Thomas Le, Anya Schwanes, Alekhya Govindaraju, Katie Shalvarjian, Jean-Baptiste Leducq, Christopher J. Marx, N. Cecilia Martinez-Gomez, Jessica A. Lee
bioRxiv 2021.09.08.459370; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.09.08.459370
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Methylothon: a versatile course-based high school research experience in microbiology and bioinformatics-- with pink bacteria
Peyton A. Jones, David Frischer, Shannon Mueller, Thomas Le, Anya Schwanes, Alekhya Govindaraju, Katie Shalvarjian, Jean-Baptiste Leducq, Christopher J. Marx, N. Cecilia Martinez-Gomez, Jessica A. Lee
bioRxiv 2021.09.08.459370; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.09.08.459370

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Scientific Communication and Education
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (3512)
  • Biochemistry (7352)
  • Bioengineering (5329)
  • Bioinformatics (20277)
  • Biophysics (10026)
  • Cancer Biology (7749)
  • Cell Biology (11319)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (6440)
  • Ecology (9958)
  • Epidemiology (2065)
  • Evolutionary Biology (13336)
  • Genetics (9362)
  • Genomics (12592)
  • Immunology (7714)
  • Microbiology (19045)
  • Molecular Biology (7447)
  • Neuroscience (41063)
  • Paleontology (300)
  • Pathology (1231)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2139)
  • Physiology (3164)
  • Plant Biology (6866)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1274)
  • Synthetic Biology (1898)
  • Systems Biology (5318)
  • Zoology (1089)