Lab Syllabus
| Week | Date | Activity | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug. 29–31 | Lab orientation & overview handling flies (1) examine wild-type flies and begin life-cycle observations (2) discuss iPlant initiative and sample collection |
"In the Laboratory of Agassiz" (handout) |
| 2 | Sept. 5–7 | (1) continue life-cycle observations review fly genetic nomenclature (2) extract genomic DNA from plant sample (3) examine & score "alphabet" mutants (3a) review & set up "alphabet" mutant mapping cross 1 |
review the basics of PCR before lab (e.g. text pp. 248–205 and here) Drosophila morphology handout "Mapping cross #1" handout |
| 3 | Sept. 12–14 | (1) Drosophila life cycle report due (2) run PCR reaction on plant DNA sample for rbcL gene (3b) review & set up "alphabet" mutant mapping crosses 2 & 3 | "Mapping cross #2" and "Mapping cross #3" handouts |
| 4 | Sept. 19–21 | (2) agarose gel analysis of plant PCR amplicons (3a) examine & score mapping cross 1 F1 flies |
review gel electrophoresis |
| Here's a link to the gels of your PCR products. | |||
| 5 | Sept. 26–28 | (2) analyze rbcL gene sequence data (3b) set up mutant mapping crosses 2 & 3 F1 crosses (4) review & set up "alphabet" mutant recombination mapping cross 4 |
"Mapping cross #4" handout |
| 6 | Oct. 3–5 | (3a) score mapping cross 1 progeny | |
| 7 | Oct. 10–12 | (3b) score mapping crosses 2 & 3 progeny (4) set up mutant mapping cross 4 F1 cross (5) examine P mutant male flies & set up chromosomal mapping cross |
"Mutagenesis cross" handout |
| 8 | Oct. 17–19 | (2) iPlant species identification report due (6) set up recombination mapping crosses for unknown mutant |
|
| 9 | Oct. 24–26 | (3) alphabet mutant mapping report due (4) score mapping cross 4 progeny (5) set up F1 mapping crosses with appropriate virgin females |
|
| 10 | Oct. 31–Nov. 2 | (6) set up F1 cross for unknown mutant with appropriate virgin females | |
| 11 | Nov. 7–9 | (4) alphabet mutant recombination mapping report due (5) score P mapping cross progeny (7) collect human genomic DNA; set up PCR reactions |
|
| 12 | Nov. 14–16 | (6) score unknown recombination mapping cross progeny (7) carry out restriction digests on PTC amplicons and run electrophoresis gels |
review restriction digestion (text pp. 340–343 |
| 13 | Nov. 21–23 | [no lab — Thanksgiving break] | |
| 14 | Nov. 28–30 | (5) P mapping report due (6) recombination mapping report due (7) PTC allele analysis report due |
|
| 15 | Dec. 5–7 | Nothing is scheduled this week, but doubtless we'll need it as a buffer… |
Life is fluid, so this syllabus is subject to change. I don't anticipate any significant deviations, but remember that it's written in electrons, not stone.
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