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Using β-thalassemia as a medical example, students explore the phenomenon of gene regulation. They consider why changes in the DNA sequence in front of a gene (not in the gene's coding sequence) affect how much functional protein is produced by the gene, use a new plasmid in a transformation experiment, utilize IPTG as a compound to turn on gene expression for certain promoters, and transform plasmid to produce GFP. Kit includes materials for 32 students working in groups of 4.

Product details
Intermediate—Easy to perform; requires some background knowledge
Perform a successful bacterial transformation!

Using β-thalassemia as a medical example, students explore the phenomenon of gene regulation in this hands-on kit. As students progress through the lab, they consider why changes in the DNA sequence in front of a gene (not in the gene's coding sequence) affect how much functional protein is produced by the gene. They also use a new plasmid in a transformation experiment that includes a gene for kanamycin resistance. They learn to utilize IPTG as a compound to turn on gene expression for certain promoters. Finally, students successfully transform plasmid to produce green fluorescent protein (GFP). Kit includes enough materials for a class of 32 students working in 8 groups of 4, as well as 1-year access to digital resources that support 3-dimensional instruction for NGSS.

Note: Kit ships with the perishable materials included.

Time Requirement
Teacher preparation, 1-3/4 hours. Prelab, 45 minutes. Practice digital exercise, 10 minutes. Investigation: Introduction, 45 minutes; procedure, 50 minutes. Analysis questions, 45 minutes. Assessment questions, 45 minutes.

Learning Objectives
Students will:

• Explain the importance of promoters and gene regulation
• Perform a successful bacterial transformation
• Describe the role of transformation in genetic engineering
• Articulate the importance of the controls in an experiment

Connection to the Next Generation Science Standards*
Performance Expectations

• HS-LS1-1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the structure of DNA determines the structure of proteins which carry out the essential functions of life through systems of specialized cells.

Science and Engineering Practices

• Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

Disciplinary Core Ideas

• HS-LS3.A: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Crosscutting Concepts

• Cause and Effect
• Patterns

*Next Generation Science Standards® is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.