Biotechnology Experiments

Biotechnology

Directions: Click on the”Experiment Title” link to the lab that you wish to preview. The webpage provides a description of the experiment with correlations to state and national science standards. After you submit a SIM request to borrow equipment or obtain the services of the Mobile Educator, then you will be emailed both the student and teacher versions of the experiment in Word format. You may edit the lab to meet your specific needs and make copies for use with your classes.

Forensics with Vernier Lab Manual Experiments – 1st edition

Forensics with Vernier Lab Manual Experiments – 2nd edition

EmbiTec MiniOne Labs: Electrophoresis and PCR

M3004 DNA Fingerprinting

Students gain the complete hands-on experience of pouring, loading, and running a gel while diving into real-world genetics and conservation biology. Students learn how DNA banding patterns can reveal the history and heritage of an individual, whether whale or human, while observing DNA separation in real time.

• Develop an understanding of gel electrophoresis and its principles
• Analyze results and deduce a probable outcome by using molecular tools, such as restriction enzymes
• Students cast, load, and run their own agarose gels and watch DNA band separation in real time
• Mammals inherit half their genome from their mother and half from their father- students use this fact to trace the parentage of a baby whale
• Large numbers of bands present a challenge for visual pattern recognition – learn how a qualitative result can be made exact through precise and logical analysis

Download the complete Student Guide for this experiment at
https://theminione.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/M3004-DNA-Fingerprinting-Students-Guide020718.pdfPDF

The complete Teacher Guide and protocol for this experiment will be provided to the teacher when they submit a LCCC SIM request form for this lab.

M3005 CSI Forensic Science

Ideal for 9-12th grade Biology and Forensic Science students, this MiniLab contains materials for 10 groups (30-40 students). Using the MiniOne System and this CSI Forensics MiniLab, students get a chance to be crime scene investigators in the classroom.

• Students cast, load, and run agarose gels using DNA from a crime scene, victim, and three suspects
• Logically integrate multiple lines of evidence, including fingerprints, hair samples, and DNA profiling to connect an individual with a crime scene
• Understand the statistical principles of human identification using DNA

Download the complete Student Guide for this experiment at
https://theminione.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/M3005-CSI-Forensics-Students-Guide-v.062118-WEB.pdf

The complete Teacher Guide and protocol for this experiment will be provided to the teacher when they submit a LCCC SIM request form for this lab.

M3009 Candy Color Electrophoresis

You spy a candy dish at a friend’s home and you just have to taste that yummy-looking yellow one.  You love lemon! You pop it in your mouth. Oh! No! You hate banana. You can only imagine what weird flavors those other colors may be!

What flavor do you imagine when you think of red? Cherry or apple? What about yellow, green, blue, brown, purple? The color of a piece of food is one of the first things we notice about it, and can make an impact on whether we want it or not. Color masters spend hours formulating the food dye to create the correct color for your food for this very reason!

In this lab, students will explore the phenomenon of candy colors. They will learn how molecular size and electrical charge affect a molecule’s migration, and using their understanding of colors, predict what happens when you use electrophoresis to separate colors from various hard-shell candies. Debate the pros and cons of natural and synthetic food dyes, and explore the colorful history behind food dyes and their regulations! Bring in some candies to test as an inquiry extension! Appropriate for middle school and beginning high school students (grades 4-10).

Download the complete Student Guide for this experiment at
https://theminione.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/M3009-Candy-Color-Electrophoresis-StudentsGuide-041019-WEB-EMAIL.pdfPDF

The complete Teacher Guide and protocol for this experiment will be provided to the teacher when they submit a LCCC SIM request form for this lab.

M3050 Sickle Cell Inheritance

Sickle Cell disease is a red blood cell disorder, inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern.

Parents of sickle cell offspring who themselves are not affected by this condition have one copy each of the mutated gene and are considered carriers. Sickle cell patients have inherited the mutated gene from both their mother and father, resulting in 2 copies of the mutation, which leads to having sickle cell disease.

The reagents in this Sickle Cell Inheritance Reagent Pack allow students in a biomedical science program to pour, load, and run a gel on the MiniOne Electrophoresis System, watch DNA separate in real time, and then analyze the results to determine whether various members of one family have sickle cell disease, are carriers, or are unaffected.

This protocol provides teachers the chance to complement existing biomedical science curriculum, and offers a wet lab experience for those currently using a paper activity to teach sickle cell inheritance.

The entire lab can be completed in the span of a single classroom period, and helps teach concepts inheritance, genetics, physiology, and human medicine.

Ideal for high school students, especially those in a biomedical science program.

Download the complete Student Guide for this experiment at
https://theminione.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/M3050-Sickle-Cell-MiniLab-Student-Guide-01012023.pdf

The complete Teacher Guide and protocol for this experiment will be provided to the teacher when they submit a LCCC SIM request form for this lab.

M6001-M6002 PCR 101

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is an essential technique in today’s molecular biology and biotech applications. Starting with a small sample of DNA, scientists can produce billions of copies of a specific fragment quickly and affordably. With our PCR 101 and Gel Electrophoresis MiniLab, students amplify fragments from the Lambda phage genome while learning the mechanism of DNA amplification with PCR and analyze their results using gel electrophoresis.

• Fast, affordable, and hands-on lab to teach the fundamentals of PCR
• Students will understand the molecular mechanism of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and gel electrophoresis
• Students set up, program, and monitor their own PCR reactions via a wireless mobile device
• Students cast, load, and run a gel to estimate the size of PCR fragments in comparison to a molecular weight standard
• Hands-on lab that can be completed in two class periods

Download the complete Student Guide for this experiment at
https://theminione.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/M6001-M6002-PCR-101-Students-Guide-020718.pdf

The complete Teacher Guide and protocol for this experiment will be provided to the teacher when they submit a LCCC SIM request form for this lab.

M6012 A Taste of Genetics

Teaching AP Biology? A Taste of Genetics MiniLab and extension activities are three Big Ideas in one comprehensive package. Together, these labs are an in-depth exploration of the TAS2R38 gene, covering hands-on genetic analysis, bioinformatics, population genetics, and evolution.

Download the complete Student Guide for this experiment at  https://theminione.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/M6010-Taste-of-Genetics-Student-Guide-031622_compressed.pdf

The complete Teacher Guide and protocol for this experiment will be provided to the teacher when they submit a LCCC SIM request form for this lab.

M6050 Restriction Digest Basics

If you needed a short piece of string but all you had was a long one, what would you do? You would probably grab a pair of scissors and cut it to the length you needed. In a somewhat similar fashion, cells have mechanisms for cutting long strands of nucleic acid into shorter strands- a type of molecular scissors. There are several reasons why cells need to cut their DNA or RNA. In this lab students will explore what restriction enzymes do and determine electrophoresis fragment sizes by comparing bands to the molecular weight standards.

• Teacher and student guides with background information, step-by-step procedures, questions for critical thinking, student worksheets for analysis, and sample answers for teachers
• Hands-on lab that can be completed in one 50-minute class period

Download the complete Student Guide for this experiment at
https://theminione.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/M6050-Restriction-Digest-Basics-Students-Guide-090718-WEB.pdf

The complete Teacher Guide and protocol for this experiment will be provided to the teacher when they submit a LCCC SIM request form for this lab.

M6053 Restriction Analysis of DNA

Molecular mechanisms for cutting DNA or RNA can help a cell ensure its safety and future, whether it’s for genetic recombination or in the case of bacteria, using restriction enzymes as a defense mechanism, slicing apart the DNA of a foreign invader. These molecular scissors also allow researchers to study smaller pieces of DNA more thoroughly by being able to cut specific pieces of DNA, or understanding how DNA is organized based on cut sites. In this restriction digestion lab, students will explore what restriction enzymes do, perform single and double digests of DNA, predict fragment sizes and compare to fragment size of the actual digested DNA run on an agarose gel, and use pre-digested DNA controls. Appropriate for AP, honors and advanced biology students, grades 9-12.

Download the complete Student Guide for this experiment at
https://theminione.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/M6053-Restriction-Analysis-of-DNA-StudentsGuide.pdf

The complete Teacher Guide and protocol for this experiment will be provided to the teacher when they submit a LCCC SIM request form for this lab.

Bio-Rad pGLO™ Bacterial Transformation Kit

Genetic engineering is the process of manipulating the genetic material of an organism — often to include the DNA from a foreign organism. Using the pGLO™ Bacterial Transformation Kit, students transform bacteria by introducing a gene from the bioluminescent jellyfish Aequorea victoria. The same procedure has been used to create “designer proteins” which have led to the explosion of new health treatments, agricultural applications, and environmental solutions.

Features and Benefits

• Aligns with AP Biology Lab 8
• Transforms bacteria with a jellyfish gene
• Turns the gene on and off for the study of gene regulation

Background Information

Bio-Rad’s exclusive pGLO plasmid is constructed with the jellyfish gene that encodes green fluorescent protein (GFP), an antibiotic-resistance gene that encodes β-lactamase protein, and the araC gene encoding a regulator protein that turns the GFP gene on and off. Bacteria transformed with pGLO plasmid are selected by ampicillin resistance; when induced to express GFP, the bugs glow fluorescent green under UV light.

How It Works

With this activity, students analyze the growth of bacteria on various media and examine the roles of external and internal factors in gene regulation. Gene expression in all organisms is carefully regulated to allow adaptation to differing conditions and to prevent wasteful production of proteins. Bacterial genes encoding the enzymes needed to metabolize the simple sugar arabinose are a perfect example. A promoter region upstream of these genes acts as a molecular on/off switch that regulates their expression. The genes are activated only when arabinose is present in the environment. Bio-Rad’s pGLO plasmid incorporates the arabinose promoter, but the genes involved in the breakdown of arabinose have been replaced with the jellyfish gene encoding GFP. When bacteria transformed with pGLO plasmid are grown in the presence of arabinose, the GFP gene switches on, causing the bacteria to express GFP and fluoresce brilliant green. When students genetically reengineer bacteria with the genes from a bioluminescent jellyfish, they never forget the central mantra of molecular biology:

DNA ⇒ RNA ⇒ Protein ⇒ Trait — Green Fluorescence

More Information

• Two–session laboratory activity, 45 min per session
• Provides sufficient materials for eight student workstations, up to four students per workstation

For more information and to download the complete lab manual, go to

https://www.bio-rad.com/en-us/product/pglo-bacterial-transformation-kit

Bio-Rad GMO Investigator™ Kit

The GMO Investigator™ Kit uses PCR and DNA electrophoresis to test for the presence of two different GMO-associated DNA sequences: the 35S promoter of the cauliflower mosaic virus and the terminator of the nopaline synthase gene of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. These DNA sequences are present in >85% of the GM crops that are approved for distribution worldwide. As a control for the integrity of the plant DNA extracted from food, PCR is used to amplify a section of the photosystem II chloroplast gene that is common to most higher plants. Students engage in a complete investigation in which they gather sample food items from the grocery store, extract DNA from the samples, amplify the DNA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and use agarose gel electrophoresis to identify the presence or absence of amplified GMO sequences.

Features and Benefits

The kit allows a guided-inquiry approach. Students conduct sophisticated scientific procedures employing multiple levels of controls that allow them to assess the validity of their results. Students are able to:

• Aligns with AP Biology Lab #9
• Extract and amplify DNA from eight food samples
• Perform genuine diagnostic procedures
• Use PCR and electrophoresis

Students determine the presence or absence of GMO sequences in their food samples and answer the following questions:

• Did we successfully extract DNA?
• Did our PCR work as expected?
• Do we have GM content?

Regardless of where your students stand on the GM debate, won’t they be interested to know how much of the corn– or soy–based foods they eat has been genetically modified?

More Information

• Three-session laboratory activity, 45 min per session
• Provides sufficient materials for eight student workstations, up to four students per workstation

For more information and to download the complete lab manual, go to

https://www.bio-rad.com/en-us/product/gmo-investigator-kit