Molecular Microbiology Laboratory: A Writing-Intensive Course - Softcover

Walt Ream

Softcover

ISBN 10: 012397044X ISBN 13: 9780123970442

Publisher: Academic Press, 2012

Synopsis

"Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, Second Edition", is designed to teach essential principles and techniques of molecular biology and microbial ecology to upper-level undergraduates majoring in the life sciences and to develop students' scientific writing skills. A detailed lab preparation manual for instructors and teaching assistants accompanies the lab book and contains a general discussion of scientific writing and critical reading as well as detailed instructions for preparation and peer review of lab reports. Each experimental unit is accompanied by a number of additional writing exercises based upon primary journal articles. It exposes students to the new molecular-based techniques. It provides faculty with an authoritative, accessible resource for teaching protocols. It is the only manual to incorporate writing exercises, presentation skills and tools for reading primary literature into the curriculum. It is based on a successful course for which the author won a teaching award. New to this Edition: presents a real-world study of bacterial populations in the environment in the final experiment; provides an overview of molecular biology in a new review chapter; demonstrates how to design an experiment and how to interpret the results; covers grant proposal writing and how panels review proposals; presents guidance on public speaking and preparing PowerPoint presentations; and, includes tutorials on three widely used software packages.

About this title

About the Author

Walt Ream, Professor of Microbiology, Oregon State University, received the Richard M. Bressler Senior Faculty Teaching Award for developing the course this book supports. In addition to this work, he has written numerous peer reviewed scholarly papers, review articles, book articles and chapters and has co-authored another book entitled, Molecular Biology Techniques: An Intensive Laboratory Course. His research led to a discovery for which a patent was issued in 2004. He regularly reviews grant proposals for NSF, USDA, DOE, NIH, American Cancer Society, NSERC-Canada, Lindbergh Foundation, Corporation for Plant Biotechnology Research and he reviews papers for Journal of Bacteriology, Plant Molecular Biology, PNAS, Science, Molecular & General Genetics, Microbiological Reviews, Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, Biochemistry, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Plasmid, Gene, Plant Physiology, Journal of American Horticulture Society, and Molecular Microbiology. He is a member of Genetics Society of America, American Society for Microbiology, and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

From the Back Cover

Molecular Microbiology Laboratory: A Writing-Intensive Course consists of four units designed to teach molecular biology techniques to juniors and seniors majoring in the life sciences. In the first unit, students prepare plasmid DNA, construct a restriction map of the plasmid, and transform it into E. coli. In the second unit, students express, purify, and analyze an affinity-tagged protein. The third unit includes an exciting experiment in which each student learns how to isolate genomic DNA, perform polymerase chain reaction (PCR), analyze and purify PCR products by gel electrophoresis, and obtain DNA sequence data. The fourth unit teaches students to perform Southern blots and to prepare hybridization probes. Additionally, this manual includes a general discussion of scientific writing and critical reading and detailed instructions for the preparation and peer review of lab reports. Each experimental unit is accompanied by a number of writing exercises based upon primary journal articles. The strategies in these articles employ the techniques that students learn in lab exercises, reinforcing their understanding of the material. This book will appeal to college students in any of the life sciences, including microbiology, genetics, general biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, botany and zoology. The experiments are also appropriate for properly equipped junior colleges and liberal arts institutions.

Unique Features:
* The second unit is not a typical cookbook lab exercise, because it offers the students the excitement and intellectual challenge of characterizing true unknowns. In principle, they could discover a new species! Despite the difficulties inherent in working with unknown bacteria, the procedure is very robust; a high success rate can be achieved even with inexperienced students.
* This is the ONLY manual that incorporates writing exercises into the curriculum. Writing is one of the most important skills that students develop in college. It is critical for their future success.
* An invaluable inclusion of COMPLETE journal articles is located in the Required and Suggested Reading section. Having these articles at hand saves time for the reader, and provides enlightening and useful information.

Edition details

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 012397044X
• ISBN 13: 9780123970442
• Binding: Plastic Comb
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 250