Course Description
How is knowledge created in studies of insect development, biodiversity, genetics, and physiology? This course examines experimental methods, bench techniques and computational approaches used to answer biological questions in entomology research. Molecular and computer laboratory sessions will provide opportunities to learn and practice techniques to generate and analyze data aligned with concepts from class.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students are required to develop a presentation for the class and/or write a research paper.
Athena Title
Molecular and Computation App
Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite
ENTO 4000/6000-4000L/6000L or BTEC 3000 or GENE 3200-3200D or GENE 3200E or GENE 3200H or BCMB 3100 or BCMB 3100E or BCMB 3100H
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- Students will gain deeper knowledge about insect evolution, biodiversity, genetics, and physiology from case studies in discussions of primary literature.
- Students will have exposure to multiple contemporary approaches used in insect biology research, and be able to describe how they are used to answer questions in research.
- Students will have direct experience with key contemporary approaches used in insect biology research from molecular and computer labs.
Topical Outline
- Module 1: Modern practices in systematics
- a. Many contemporary approaches in systematics rely upon comparison of sequence data from conserved regions of insect genomes. Students will learn how this information can be generated and analyzed in the lab (barcoding exercise) and used for systematics research. They will also learn how AI can be used for insect identification through morphological characteristics.
- Module 2: Modern practices in physiology
- a. All insects undergo conserved physiological processes such as molting, which are induced via expression of conserved genes and the actions of gene products or synthesized molecules. Students will learn how to generate gene expression data and perform manipulative experiments in the lab (quantitative PCR and RNAi exercises) and learn how these data are used for physiology research.
- Module 3: Modern practices in bioinformatics
- a. Insect species share many genes with each other and with other organisms, but also have their own genetic code and unique gene sequences. Students will learn how insect genome sequences are derived, how comparative analyses of genes and other sequences are performed in a computer lab (sequence searches, alignment, and genome assembly exercises), and how to use AI to assist with computational analyses. Students will learn how genomic data are used for research in insect molecular biology and evolution.
- Final Project : At the end of the course, students will participate in a project that integrates knowledge of insect biology and contemporary skills to deliver a poster presentation, a written paper, or a podcast.
