About

Welcome to Microbial Mysteries, a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) that takes you on a genomics adventure from soil to gut! You will be introduced to metagenomic data analysis - the study of the collective genomes from all the microorganisms in a sample, such as human gut, water or soil, which contain thousands of different microbes. We will use publically-available DNA sequencing data and free, open-source computational tools for our metagenomics data analysis.

In this CURE you will develop your own research project using learned skills and genomics datasets from environments such as human gut, water and soil. Because soil is considered one of the most microbially diverse environment on Earth, you are especially encouraged to explore this increadible reservoir of biodiversity through BioDIGS, a soil biodiversity metagenome project that samples and analyzes soil from across the United States.

Through this experience, students will learn how genomic data science is used in both basic research (to understand how nature works) and clinical research (to improve human health).

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Skills Level

Genetics
Novice: Introduction to central dogma of molecular biology

Programming skills
Novice: No programming experience needed

Research skills
Novice: No scientific research experience needed

Learning Goals

  • Navigate biological databases - access the wealth of publically available scientific knowledge and data (e.g. NCBI).
  • Analyze Big Data - e.g. plot and interpret results from next generation sequencing (NGS) experiment.
  • Gain skills in computational and bioinformatics data analysis - e.g. web-based platforms or command-line bioingofmatics tools (e.g. Galaxy, R).
  • Practice the scientific process and critical thinking - learing to read and evaluate scientific literature, ask questions, identify avenues for research, design experiments, analyze and interpret data, and integrating results into the broader scientific discourse.
  • Engage in scientific research - Apply knowledge and skills learned to complete a project using existing datasets to ask new questions, generate novel conclusions and create and present a Final Poster.

C-MOOR Content Collection

This content is part of a collection of teaching resources developed by C-MOOR. C-MOOR works to break down barriers to scientific participation and build pathways for the next generation of data scientists through authentic research experiences. Learn more about C-MOOR by viewing our projects, or read about how C-MOOR is integrating research experience into undergraduate biology courses at Clovis Community College. –>

All materials CC-BY unless noted otherwise.