Biotechnology is an ever-evolving field of science critical to improving the quality of human life, particularly in medicine. Optogenetics, an area of biotechnology, involves genetic modification of cells to express light-sensitive ion channels, which allows for the use of light to manipulate behavior. This module utilizes an approach to bridge optogenetics, cellular metabolism, and animal behavior for student-driven inquiry in college courses. Drosophila melanogaster larvae modified to express Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) in motor neurons serve as model organisms in this module. Students can connect temperature, metabolic rate, and gene expression through data collection of behavioral responses to light stimuli exhibited by larvae raised at various temperatures. Students can observe the role of cofactors in metabolic processes via larvae that have been fed all-trans retinal, a cofactor to ChR2. Students can analyze and interpret data in order to make a claim about how the two variables investigated (temperature and cofactor) impact the behavior of the target organism. The final activity allows students to form connections to cutting-edge research related to optogenetics, such as work with the GAL4/UAS system. This would provide a foundation for further exploration of such research. The module can be used in in-person, hybrid, or remote settings.
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