Abstract Detail

Education and Outreach

Hale, Haley [1], Chen, Yanni [2], Williams, Lindsay [3], Johnson, Matt [4].

Implementing undergraduate research in an upper-level botany lab using target capture sequencing of herbarium specimens.

Universities promote undergraduate research as the main avenue for students to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to prosper in contemporary science. However, this route is often exclusionary, especially in universities with high student-to-professor ratios. Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have enriched undergraduate learning by including a hands-on, discovery-based research experience in the classroom. We implemented CURE methodologies to our upper-level botany course for the spring semester of 2019. The students, many of whom lacked formal research experience, were presented with guided inquiry in phylogenetics using targeted sequencing of herbarium specimens. Research questions were chosen to generate data for genus level phylogenomic projects in which collaborators were interested. The laboratory section operated in three main phases: (1) Background, experimental design, and destructive sampling of herbarium specimens; (2) DNA extraction and library preparation from degraded DNA; (3) Data analysis and dissemination. Several challenges presented themselves over the course of the semester including start-up cost of equipment and reagents, limited laboratory time to complete protocols, and teaching students with varying levels of laboratory and computational experience. Here, we offer a self-critique and provide an overview of accomplishments and shortcomings we experienced during our CURE botany lab.

1 - Texas Tech University, 2901 Main St. , Lubbock, TX, 79409, United States
2 - Texas Tech University, Department Of Biological Sciences, Lubbock, TX, 79409, United States
3 - Texas Tech University, 2901 Main St, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA
4 - Texas Tech University, Biological Sciences, 2901 Main Street, Ms3131, Lubbock, TX, 79409, United States

Keywords:
CURE
Targeted sequencing
Herbarium.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: EO1, Education and Outreach II: Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), COVID
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Tuesday, July 28th, 2020
Time: 12:30 PM
Number: EO1001
Abstract ID:477
Candidate for Awards:None