A cost-free CURE: using bioinformatics to identify DNA-binding factors at a specific genomic locus.
| Autor: | Schmidt CA; Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA., Hodkinson LJ; Graduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA., Comstra HS; Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA., Khan S; Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA., Torres H; Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, Connecticut, USA., Rieder LE; Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.; Graduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Zdroj: | Journal of microbiology & biology education [J Microbiol Biol Educ] 2023 Oct 24; Vol. 24 (3). Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Oct 24 (Print Publication: 2023). |
| DOI: | 10.1128/jmbe.00120-23 |
| Abstrakt: | Research experiences provide diverse benefits for undergraduates. Many academic institutions have adopted course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) to improve student access to research opportunities. However, potential instructors of a CURE might still face financial or practical hurdles that prevent implementation. Bioinformatics research offers an alternative that is free, safe, compatible with remote learning, and may be more accessible for students with disabilities. Here, we describe a bioinformatics CURE that leverages publicly available datasets to discover novel proteins that target an instructor-determined genomic locus of interest. We use the free, user-friendly bioinformatics platform Galaxy to map ChIP-seq datasets to a genome, which removes the computing burden from students. Both faculty and students directly benefit from this CURE, as faculty can perform candidate screens and publish CURE results. Students gain not only basic bioinformatics knowledge, but also transferable skills, including scientific communication, database navigation, and primary literature experience. The CURE is flexible and can be expanded to analyze different types of high-throughput data or to investigate different genomic loci in any species. Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. (Copyright © 2023 Schmidt et al.) |
| Databáze: | MEDLINE |
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