Biology 232: Cell Biology Fall 2000

Instructor: Sigrid A. Carle

Rosenberg 205, Ext. 3589

E-mail: carle@hws.edu

Office Hours: Monday, 1:15 – 1:50AM

Thursday, 10 – 12 NOON

Or by appointment

Required Material:

Essential Cell Biology; Alberts, Bray, Johnson, Lewis, Raff, Roberts, and Walter; 1998

Bound Lab notebook- Must bring the first week of lab

Objectives: Cell biology is a diverse discipline. Since we can not possible cover all aspects of cell biology in one course, we will touch on several major topics that will provide you with a broad background and understanding of cell biology. For the first third of the course we will discuss the flow of genetic information. In this section we will cover the structure and function of DNA, and the mechanics of transcription and translation. Once these concepts are understood, we will turn our attention to how cells determine and regulate which proteins are made.

For the middle third of the course we will discuss the structure and function of cell membranes and the membrane-bound organelles involved in protein synthesis and targeting proteins to the correct cellular location. Included in this section will be a discussion of how cells communicate and how communication can lead to such diverse actions such as muscle contraction, protein synthesis, or even cell death

The last third of the course will concentrate on metabolism (cellular respiration and photosynthesis) and cell movement (the cytoskeleton). We will also return to, and tie together, many of the topics covered earlier in the term. It is during this section of the course that I want you to make connections between the topics we have covered and begin to develop an understanding of how cells function.

My overall goal as an instructor is to get you to think like a scientist. I hope you will carry away an understanding of how scientists devise experiments, draw conclusions, and build working models of how cells function. In light of this goal, lectures and labs are presented from the experimental point of view. Whenever possible, I present the fundamental experiments that led to the working models we are discussing. All of your labs will have an experimental basis. For each lab, I will give you a scenario that will provide the question for the experiment. You will be expected to formulate a hypothesis and a prediction and write up the lab as a scientific journal article.

Article discussions and debate: We will read and discuss review and research articles in order to put the course material in the context of current research. The topic for our discussions is HIV infection. We will start with an article that outlines how determination of HIV co-receptors led to the discovery of an HIV resistance gene. Students will generate the next set of articles we read. The last week of lab we will have a debate based on the information students gather. Through this process, I you gain an appreciation of research, the ethical issues it raises, and an understanding of how experimental data is used to create models of biological systems.

For each article, I will divide the class into groups of three. Each group will be given a set of questions to discuss before coming to class. In order for the discussion to be productive each group must come to class prepared. Exams will include questions on the articles. Often these questions will be given ahead of time. We will discuss the articles according to the schedule listed below.

Article Title Reference discussion date

1. In search of AIDS-resistance genes Scientific American, September 1997: 44-51 9/13 or 14

2. Student chosen papers background information will be provided 10/25 or 26

3. Debate: Does HIV cause AIDS? 12/6 or 7

Lecture: It is expected that you will come to class having read the material and that you will take good notes. You may tape record the lecture if you wish. If you miss a lecture, it is your responsibility to get the notes from another student.

To help you prepare for exams, take home “quizzes” will be given approximately every other week. Students may work in groups or alone on the problems. I will randomly ask groups/students to present the answers to the problems the following class period. The presented answers will allow the class to discuss the material and stimulate a better understanding of the lecture topics. The quizzes will not be graded-this is your chance to see if you understand the material!

Laboratory: Attendance at labs is mandatory. If you miss a lab without making some arrangement ahead of time, you will automatically fail the course. Labs are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. If you can't make your regular lab, tell me by MONDAY, and you may be able to switch lab periods. Since all labs will take more than one lab period to complete, you will not be allowed to switch lab days for only one week.

Labs meet in room 216 Rosenberg Hall.

Grading: Your overall grade for the course will be determined as follows:

Exam 1 15% 150 pt.

Exam 2 15% 150 pt.

Exam 3 15% 150 pt.

Final Exam 25% 250 pt.

Lab Work 25% 250 pt.

Library searches and debate 5% 50 pt.

The exams will include material from lecture and lab. The Exams 1, 2, and 3 are scheduled for September 25^th, October 23^rd, and November 20^th. The final exam will be December 13^th at 7 pm.

LABORATORY SCHEDULE:

Lab Name Techniques Date(s)

1. Naegleria development Initiation of development 8/30 &31

Student designed experiments All term

Scheduled meetings and work day: 10/18 &19

11/1 & 2

2. Analysis of serum albumin Peptide Mapping 9/6 & 7

Data analysis and paper discussion 9/13 & 14

3. Development of the Immune system ion-exchange chromatography 9/20 & 21

SDS-PAGE 9/27 &28

Western Blot-set up 10/4 & 5

Western Blot-develop 10/11 & 12

4. Effect of a new herbicide on succinate solution preparation 11/8 & 9

Dehydrogenase activity enzyme isolation and assay 11/15 & 16

Data Analysis 11/29 & 30

We will discuss research papers during lab 9/13 &14, 10/25 &26, and 12/6 &7.

LAB REPORTS: Students may opt to turn in group lab reports for the Naegleria and Succinate dehydrogenase labs; all other lab write-ups are to be individual reports. All write-ups must be in the scientific journal format and be typed. They are due at 5 PM on the due date. Late labs will not be accepted for any reason.

Topic points Due date

1. Naegleria development 100 Monday, 12/1

2. Analysis of serum albumin 25 Friday, 9/15

3. Development of the Immune system 100 Wednesday, 10/18

4. Effects of herbicides on 50 Friday, 12/8

succinate dehydrogenase activity

Lecture Schedule:

TOPIC	DATE	PAGES
Introduction and Cellular Evolution	August 28^th	Chapter 1 & p. 450-451
Cellular Evolution	August 28^th	Chapter 1 & p. 450-451
Protein structure	August 30^th	Chapter 5
Protein structure	September 1^st	Chapter 5
DNA structure and replication	September 4^th	Chapter 6
Organization of DNA into Chromosomes	September 6^th	Chapter 8
Organization of DNA into Chromosomes	September 8^th	Chapter 8
Transcription	September 11^th	Chapter 7 & 8
Translation	September 13^th	Chapter 7 & 8
Control of Transcription	September 15^th	Chapter 8
Control of Transcription	September 18^th	Chapter 8
Control of Transcription	September 20^th	Chapter 7
Membrane structure	September 22^nd	Chapter 11
EXAM I- All material up to and including control of transcription	September 25^th
Membrane structure- the red blood cell	September 27^th	Chapter 11
Red blood cell membrane structure	September 29^th	Chapter 11
Membrane Transport	October 2^nd	Chapter 12
Membrane Transport	October 4^th	Chapter 12
Membrane Transport-bulk transport	October 6^th	p. 472-476
Protein Sorting	October 9^th	Chapter 14
Protein Sorting	October 11^th	Chapter 14
Protein Sorting	October 13^th	Chapter 14
Protein Sorting	October 16^th	Chapter 14
Cell communication	October 18^th	Chapter 14
Cell Communication	October 20^th	Chapter 15
Exam II- Membrane structure up to and including protein sorting	October 23^rd
G-protein-linked receptors	October 25^th	Chapter 15
Inositol phospholipid signaling pathway	October 27^th	Chapter 15
Metabolism – cellular respiration	October 30^th	Chapter 4 and 13
Metabolism – cellular respiration	November 1^st	Chapter 13
Cellular respiration and Ethanol metabolism	November 3^rd	Chapter 13
Ethanol metabolism	November 6^th	Not in text
Photosynthesis	November 8^th	Chapter 13
Photosynthesis	November 10^th	Chapter 13
Photosynthesis	November 13^th	Chapter 13
Cytoskeleton: microtubules	November 15^th	Chapter 13
Cytoskeleton: microtubules	November 17^th	Chapter 16
Exam III- cell communication up to and including photosynthesis	November 20^th
Cytoskeleton: actin filaments	November 27^th	Chapter 16
Cytoskeleton: muscle contraction	November 29^th	Chapter 16
Cell cycle control	December 1^st	Chapter 18
Cell cycle and programmed cell death	December 4^th	Chapter 18
Cell cycle and cancer	December 6^th	Not in text
Cell cycle and cancer	December 8^th	Not in text
Final Exam-comprehensive	December 13^th	7 p.m.