Harnessing the Topics of Cytochrome P450 Enzymology and Artemisinin to Teach a Semester-Long Biochemistry Laboratory Course
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| Title: | Harnessing the Topics of Cytochrome P450 Enzymology and Artemisinin to Teach a Semester-Long Biochemistry Laboratory Course |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Hadi D. Arman, Tu M. Ho, Kaitlyn Varela, Cynthia S. Veliz, Richard B. Zanni, Armando Rodriguez, Zhiwei Wang, Francis K. Yoshimoto (ORCID |
| Source: | Journal of Chemical Education. 2023 100(6):2233-2242. |
| Availability: | Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 10 |
| Publication Date: | 2023 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Descriptive |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Biochemistry, Science Laboratories, Undergraduate Students, Undergraduate Study, Student Research, Curriculum Implementation, College Science, Laboratory Experiments, Scientific Concepts, Computation, Educational Technology, Spectroscopy, Genetics, Computer Simulation, Human Body |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01181 |
| ISSN: | 0021-9584 1938-1328 |
| Abstract: | Eleven different laboratory experiments were designed and executed throughout a semester to provide a meaningful research experience for 23 undergraduate biochemistry majors at UTSA. The topic of the semester was based on the idea of exploring new aspects to enhance our understanding of how the human body uses cytochrome P450 enzymes to metabolize artemisinin, an endoperoxide-containing plant natural product used to treat malaria. Biochemical techniques introduced to the students included computational (dry lab) techniques: the use of bioinformatics tools to design plasmids for protein expression, software to analyze the 3-dimensional structure of proteins, metabolomics software to analyze enzyme-catalyzed reaction extracts by mass spectrometry, and docking software to dock ligands into the active site of proteins. In addition, students performed experimental (wet lab) techniques including: a transformation experiment to incorporate plasmid DNA into bacteria, an extraction of plasmid DNA from bacterial cells, performing enzymatic incubations and preparing samples for analysis by mass spectrometry, and running an SDS protein gel electrophoresis. The semester ended with the use of a web-based program to allow students to visualize the proteins they were studying throughout the semester with a virtual reality headset. This course was taught for the first time at the university, so this manuscript should inspire ideas for future biochemistry laboratory courses taught in the course based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) format. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2024 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1444501 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Eleven different laboratory experiments were designed and executed throughout a semester to provide a meaningful research experience for 23 undergraduate biochemistry majors at UTSA. The topic of the semester was based on the idea of exploring new aspects to enhance our understanding of how the human body uses cytochrome P450 enzymes to metabolize artemisinin, an endoperoxide-containing plant natural product used to treat malaria. Biochemical techniques introduced to the students included computational (dry lab) techniques: the use of bioinformatics tools to design plasmids for protein expression, software to analyze the 3-dimensional structure of proteins, metabolomics software to analyze enzyme-catalyzed reaction extracts by mass spectrometry, and docking software to dock ligands into the active site of proteins. In addition, students performed experimental (wet lab) techniques including: a transformation experiment to incorporate plasmid DNA into bacteria, an extraction of plasmid DNA from bacterial cells, performing enzymatic incubations and preparing samples for analysis by mass spectrometry, and running an SDS protein gel electrophoresis. The semester ended with the use of a web-based program to allow students to visualize the proteins they were studying throughout the semester with a virtual reality headset. This course was taught for the first time at the university, so this manuscript should inspire ideas for future biochemistry laboratory courses taught in the course based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) format. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0021-9584 1938-1328 |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01181 |
