Home > Contents of Proceedings > Volume 16

Editor: Corey A. Goldman (University of Toronto)
Host: Judith G. Morgan

1. A Study of Gene Linkage and Mapping Using Tetrad Analysis in the Fungus Sordaria fimicola

Jon C. Glase, Cornell University  [abstract] [full text]

2. A Holistic Approach to Teaching a Laboratory, Using Sea Urchin Development as an Example System

Arri Eisen, Emory University  [abstract] [full text]

3. Human Chromosome Analysis

Charles C. Tseng, Purdue University-Calumet  [abstract] [full text]

4. Sister Chromatid Differentiation and Exchange in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells in Culture

James C. Tan, Valparaiso University  [abstract] [full text]

5. Measurement of Photosynthetic Activity in Plant Cell Fractions

Norm Scott and Bruce Greenberg, University of Waterloo  [abstract] [full text]

6. Diversity of Photosynthetic Pigments

Alexander F. Motten, Duke University  [abstract] [full text: pdf | html]

7. Carbon Dioxide Uptake in Plants: A Computer-Aided Experimental System

Christopher J. Paradise and Richard J. Cyr, Penn State University  [abstract] [full text]

8. Developmental Plasticity in Oak Leaves

David Westmoreland, Emory University  [abstract] [full text: pdf | html]

9. Pollen Tube Formation and the Central Dogma of Biology

Rodney J. Scott, Wheaton College  [abstract] [full text: pdf | html]

10. Immunocytochemical Analysis of Sperm Cytoskeleton

Beth Retallack, Dalhousie University  [abstract] [full text]

11. Active Transport in Insect Malpighian Tubules

Dee U. Silverthorn, University of Texas at Austin  [abstract] [full text]

12. Computer Simulations of Basic Neuronal Function

Maggie Haag, University of Alberta  [abstract] [full text]

13. Honeybee Venom Detected by Enzyme Immunoassay

Mary K. Janis, University of Alaska Anchorage  [abstract] [full text]

14. Regulation of Blood Glucose Levels in Normal and Diabetic Rats

Linda K. Butler, University of Texas at Austin  [abstract] [full text]

15. Human Mastication Project Laboratory

Paul R. Lennard, Emory University  [abstract] [full text]

16. Use of Bioluminescence in Detecting Biohazardous Substances in Water

Kenneth Wm. Thomulka and Lois H. Peck, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science  [abstract] [full text]

17. Observational Investigation of Systematics, Physiology, and Behavior of Vertebrates in a Living Collection

Bonnie McCormick, Sara Kerr, and Christy MacKinnon, Incarnate Word College  [abstract] [full text]

Appendix A: Abstracts of Mini Workshops

Appendix B: Contents of Volumes 1-16

• Go to Volume 17
• Back to Table of Contents of proceedings volumes
• How to obtain copies of proceedings volumes

Abstracts (Vol. 16)

Laboratory Exercises in Cell and Molecular Biology, Genetics, and Development

1 -- A Study of Gene Linkage and Mapping Using Tetrad Analysis in the Fungus Sordaria fimicola.
Jon C. Glase  [full text]
Key Words: genetics, gene linkage, gene-centromere mapping, meiosis, independent assortment, segregation, fungi, spore color, Sordaria fimicola.
This laboratory focuses on some aspects of spore color determination in the fungus Sordaria fimicola. Tetrad analysis of asci from a cross between strains mutant for two spore color genes is used to determine if the genes are linked and to map the location of each gene relative to the centromere. This laboratory is logistically simple and inexpensive, the data are relatively easy to collect, and the analysis facilitates a good understanding of meiosis and Mendel s principles of inheritance. Alternate approaches to the use of this laboratory are discussed.

2 -- A Holistic Approach to Teaching a Laboratory, Using Sea Urchin Development as an Example System
Arri Eisen  [full text]
Key Words: sea urchin, development, fertilization, small groups, independent research design.
This exercise uses brainstorming, writing, and oral presentation techniques within the framework of a laboratory to illustrate the basic principles of early development. In groups, students learn how to identify a good model system (the sea urchin), isolate its gametes, mix some gametes from each sex, and study the ensuing processes of fertilization and development. After being introduced to the basic techniques, student groups design their own experimental approaches to further analyze these processes.

3 -- Human Chromosome Analysis
Charles C. Tseng  [full text]
Key Words: human chromosomes, metaphase, G-banding, karyotype, key to chromosomes.
This laboratory allows students to study human chromosomes without using blood. The instructor is provided with unstained metaphase slides prepared from cell culture. Students perform chromosome staining and G-banding and study and identify G-banded chromosomes under the microscope. Next they perform karyotyping using an innovative dichotomous key to individual chromosomes.

4 -- Sister Chromatid Differentiation and Exchange in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells in Culture
James C. Tan  [full text]
Key Words: sister chromatid differentiation, sister chromatid exchange, cell culturing techniques, Fluorescence Plus Giemsa technique, Chinese hamster ovary cells.
This laboratory exercise is designed to illustrate the semi-conservative mode of DNA duplication through the expression of sister chromatid differentiation (SCD), the single-stranded nature of the eukaryotic chromosome organization, and the mutagenic effects of certain chemical or physical agents through induced sister chromatid exchange (SCE). Through individual work and/or a group project, students will learn the basic cell culturing and cytogenetic techniques for chromosome studies, especially the Fluorescence Plus Giemsa (FPG) technique for detecting SCD and SCE. Comprehensive background and technical information and notes for the instructor are included.

Laboratory Exercises in Physiology

5 -- Measurement of Photosynthetic Activity in Plant Cell Fractions
Norm Scott and Bruce Greenberg  [full text]
Key Words: assay, cell fractions, DCPIP, pea plants, photosynthesis.
Fractions of plant cells prepared by homogenization and differential centrifugation exhibit enzymatic activity. In fractions containing chloroplasts, light causes evolution of oxygen and generation of high-energy electrons that are passed along the electron transport chain of the thylakoid membrane. The results of an assay for the reduction of DCPIP, an artificial electron acceptor, in these fractions can illustrate the photosynthetic activity that takes place within the living cell, and can indicate how successful the fractionation procedure has been in separating organelles.

6 -- Diversity of Photosynthetic Pigments
Alexander F. Motten  [full text: pdf | html]
Key Words: algae, carotenoids, chlorophyll, chromatography, photosynthetic pigments, plants.
The prominence of color in the biology of algal divisions is emphasized by their names. Using readily available source materials, students extract polar and non-polar photosynthetic pigments from red, brown, and green algae and from a cyanobacterium and an angiosperm. The polar pigments are then quickly and cleanly separated by thin layer chromatography on narrow strips of plastic-backed silica gel with minimal amounts of solvent. The resulting patterns can be used to infer the origins of chloroplasts in eukaryotes and the phylogenetic relationships among the source taxa or to illustrate a wider assortment of accessory pigments than those found in angiosperms alone.

7 -- Carbon Dioxide Uptake in Plants: A Computer-Aided Experimental System
Christopher J. Paradise and Richard J. Cyr  [full text]
Key Words: carbon dioxide, photosynthesis, plants, computers, investigative lab, data acquisition.
This exercise introduces students to concepts of photosynthesis at the whole organism level and to computer utilization in biology. Changes in carbon dioxide concentration are measured in environmental chambers using gas analyzers connected to computers. Carbon dioxide changes are graphed in real time as the plants take up CO₂. Over a short time, sunflower seedlings show dramatic changes in CO₂ uptake when light intensity is altered or color filters are used. Comparison of the resulting graphs will indicate treatment differences in the rate of carbon dioxide change. Modifying the basic experimental design allows this exercise to be used in a variety of courses.

8 -- Developmental Plasticity in Oak Leaves
David Westmoreland  [full text: pdf | html]
Key Words: photosynthesis, leaf shape, oaks, maples.
In oaks and maples, leaf shape within the canopy varies. Leaves in full sun have deep sinuses that allow much of the incident sunlight to penetrate the canopy. Shade leaves have shallow sinuses, and thus intercept most of the available light. Another difference is that sun leaves are thicker, having extra layers of photosynthetic cells to absorb direct sunlight. In this exercise, students quantify these differences in shape and thickness.

9 -- Pollen Tube Formation and the Central Dogma of Biology
Rodney J. Scott  [full text: pdf | html]
Key Words: pollen, pollen tube, actinomycin D, cycloheximide, cytochalasin B.
This exercise demonstrates the relationship between gene expression and a dynamic example of plant development (pollen tube formation). It demonstrates the connection between pollen tube formation and genetic information transfer (i.e., the central dogma of biology ) through the use of metabolic inhibitors. Pollen tubes are measured following germination in vitro in plain pollen medium (control) and media with substances inhibitory to transcription (actinomycin D), translation (cycloheximide), and the formation of microfilaments (cytochalasin B). Under these conditions following several hours, tube growth ranges from several hundred microns in the control to zero microns in medium with cytochalasin B.

10 -- Immunocytochemical Analysis of Sperm Cytoskeleton
Beth Retallack  [full text]
Key Words: bull sperm, cytoskeleton, immunocytochemistry, DAB staining reaction.
Monoclonal antitubulin antibodies produced in mice will be used to label bull sperm microtubules and the location of these antibodies will be determined by use of a peroxidase conjugated secondary antibody and the DAB staining reaction. Protocols are presented for use in a second-year student laboratory class given in a multi-section (repeated) format. These protocols include those for preparation of poly-L-lysine coated slides and of bull sperm, as well as those for immunocytochemistry, using the DAB reaction.

11 -- Active Transport in Insect Malpighian Tubules
Dee U. Silverthorn  [full text]
Key Words: active transport, secretion, Malpighian tubule, epithelium.
The Malpighian tubules of insects are an excellent model for examining the properties of secretion in a transporting epithelium. In this exercise students expose tubules from cockroaches or crickets to chlorophenol red and visually estimate the dye concentration in the lumen. By adding metabolic inhibitors and competitors or by substituting ion-free media they can demonstrate competition, specificity, and energy- or ion-dependence of active transport. Advanced students can design their own experiments after a review of the literature. This simple and inexpensive exercise provides students with a challenging and rewarding introduction to experimental design in the laboratory.

12 -- Computer Simulations of Basic Neuronal Function
Maggie Haag  [full text]
Key Words: computer simulation, neurophysiology, neuron, axon, action potential, conduction.
This laboratory utilizes two user-friendly computer programs from Neurosim (Biosoft, Cambridge, U.K.) that demonstrate various aspects of electrophysiological functions of neurons without sacrificing experimental animals. One program simulates passive conduction in a long length of axon while the second program simulates the Hodgkin-Huxley equations for the production of an action potential. While these programs allow students to try experimental manipulations that parallel those done in real electrophysiological experiments (changing ionic concentrations or voltage stimulus, effects of various drugs, etc.) it also allows them to change some of the inherent properties of neurons, such as membrane resistance and axon resistance. This enables one to see how neurons of different physical characteristics differ in their electrical behavior. This laboratory is suitable for students of varying backgrounds.

13 -- Honeybee Venom Detected by Enzyme Immunoassay
Mary K. Janis  [full text]
Key Words: allergy, enzyme immunoassay, Western blot, bee venom, anti-venom antibodies.
The venom of the honeybee, Apis mellifera, contains numerous enzymes, volatiles, and other components. Allergic individuals develop anti-venom antibodies which may cause hives, anaphylactic shock, and death. In this exercise students detect concentrations of bee venom on nitrocellulose membranes following incubation of membranes with anti-venom antibodies, enzyme-conjugated secondary antibodies, and a colorimetric substrate. The intensity of the colored substrate deposited on the membrane is proportional to the original concentrations of bee venom spotted on the membrane. Students are introduced to micropipetting and to the concept of detection limits while learning about allergy and immunoassays.

14 -- Regulation of Blood Glucose Levels in Normal and Diabetic Rats
Linda K. Butler  [full text]
Key Words: blood glucose, diabetes, endocrinology, glucose tolerance test, homeostasis, insulin, rats.
This exercise demonstrates the crucial role insulin plays in blood glucose homeostasis in mammals. Three pairs of fasted rats are tested in each of three different regimes; one rat of each pair is normal and the other is diabetic. The first pair is administered an oral glucose load and a placebo injection of saline. The second pair is administered an oral glucose load and an insulin injection. The third pair is administered an oral placebo of water and a placebo injection of saline. The blood glucose levels of the six rats are monitored at 20-minute intervals for 2 hours by taking blood samples from each rat's tail.

15 -- Human Mastication Project Laboratory
Paul R. Lennard  [full text]
Key Words: mastication, EMG, central pattern generators, kinematics, experimental design.
The pattern of jaw movements during mastication is fairly simple and lends itself to both a kinematic and a non-invasive electromyographic (EMG) analysis. Students are provided with a customized Mac computer/LabView software virtual instrument system for the acquisition, storage, and parametric analysis of kinematic video data correlated on a frame-by-frame basis with multichannel EMG records. Each student is asked to design and implement a set of mastication experiments, thus gaining exposure to library research, outlining a feasible project, writing a grant proposal, data collection, analysis, and final presentation of results.

Laboratory Exercises in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior

16 -- Use of Bioluminescence in Detecting Biohazardous Substances in Water
Kenneth Wm. Thomulka and Lois H. Peck  [full text]
Key Words: biohazardous, bioluminescence, biotoxicity, luciferase, environmental awareness, environmental stressors.
Biological assays are important tools for detecting hazardous materials in water. Presented here is an inexpensive, reproducible assay that requires minimal preparation and equipment. Students are provided with a direct method of detecting potentially biohazardous materials in water by observing the reduction in bacterial luminescence in the non-pathogenic marine bacteria, Vibrio harveyi or Vibrio fischeri. This novel procedure, an attention getter, serves as a motivational tool, stimulating interest and evoking curiosity.

17 -- Observational Investigation of Systematics, Physiology, and Behavior of Vertebrates in a Living Collection
Bonnie McCormick, Sara Kerr, and Christy MacKinnon  [full text]
Key Words: zoological collection, observational investigation.
This laboratory exercise utilizes a zoological collection to teach vertebrate zoology in an introductory biology lab. Many colleges are near major vertebrate collections kept in zoos and aquariums. Most of these institutions maintain education departments with extensive information about individual collections. Major zoos are engaged in research in the areas of conservation, behavior, genetics and reproduction of endangered species, and animal health and nutrition. Students utilize the animal collection to observe and identify distinguishing characteristics of the various orders of vertebrates, relate structures to physiological function, correlate physiological adaptations to habitat, and observe and interpret behavioral characteristics.

Mini Workshops  

• Group Projects in Large and Small Classes (Jane Beiswenger and Donna P. Bagby)
• Teaching General Biology Using the Open Lab Format (Gail Schiffer and Dorothy Zinsmeister)
• DNA Sequence Analysis (Barry Yedvobnick and Victoria Finnerty)
• Teaching DNA Structure and Function on a Shoestring Budget (Larry L. Lowe)
• Using Tissue Culture to Investigate Plant Cell Differentiation and Dedifferention (Donna M. Bozzone)
• Bioluminescence in Transformed Bacterial Cells (Carole Corsby)
• Making and Staining Fresh Plant Hand-Sections (Susan M. Schenk)
• An Inexpensive Pressure Transducer for Measuring Aerobic and Anaerobic Respiration (Graham R. Kent and Richard T. Briggs)
• Recording Action Potentials from Earthworm Giant Axons (Wayne L. Silver)
• Using a Fresh Mammalian Heart in Learning-Cycle Laboratory (Ann O. Wilke)
• Nematodes of the Cockroach (Karen J. Ott)
• Plant Competition from the Field and Laboratory Perspective (Denise A. Martin)
• Influence of Nutrients and Zooplankton Grazing on Phytoplankton: A Collaborative Lab (Sherry Brooks, Eileen Zerba, Randy Fuller, and Ron Hoham)
• Using Displays to Augment Laboratories (Barbara D. Stegenga)
• Update on AP Biology Labs (Beth Nichols)