Analyzing gene expression in sea star eggs and embryos using bioinformatics

Methods Cell Biol. 2019:150:471-483. doi: 10.1016/bs.mcb.2018.11.015. Epub 2018 Dec 21.

Abstract

The explosion in the amount of genomic data has changed how we educate future biologists. Students are inundated with information and need to develop skills in how to observe and understand this data. This chapter describes a teaching laboratory for undergraduate Genetics students that uses a combination of bioinformatics and wet lab exercises to teach skills in applying genomic data to a real scientific question. Students identify a target protein and search for the encoding RNA in newly available sea star transcriptome databases. The students design primers against specific regions or domains in their target RNA and amplify these by reverse transcription PCR. The PCR reactions are analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. The goal of this laboratory is to provide an example of how bioinformatics can be used to solve a real biological problem.

Keywords: Bioinformatics; Genome; PCR; Primer design; Sea star; Transcriptome; Undergraduate lab.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Computational Biology / methods
  • Databases, Genetic
  • Gene Expression / genetics*
  • Genomics / methods
  • RNA / genetics
  • Starfish / genetics*
  • Students
  • Transcriptome / genetics

Substances

  • RNA