Teaching Basic Calculations in an Introductory Biology Lab.

Quantitative reasoning is one of the core competencies identified as a priority for transforming the undergraduate biology curriculum. However, first-year biology majors often lack confidence in their quantitative skills. We revised an introductory biology lab to emphasize the teaching of basic laboratory calculations, utilizing multiple teaching tools, including online prelab quizzes, minilab lectures, calculation worksheets, and online video tutorials.

Targeting olfactory bulb neurons using combined in vivo electroporation and Gal4-based enhancer trap zebrafish lines.

In vivo electroporation is a powerful method for delivering DNA expression plasmids, RNAi reagents, and morpholino anti-sense oligonucleotides to specific regions of developing embryos, including those of C. elegans, chick, Xenopus, zebrafish, and mouse. In zebrafish, in vivo electroporation has been shown to have excellent spatial and temporal resolution for the delivery of these reagents.

Targeting the zebrafish optic tectum using in vivo electroporation.

In vivo electroporation is a method for delivery of plasmids and other oligonucleotide reagents that offers precise temporal control. In zebrafish, in vivo electroporation is particularly well-suited to delivering green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression vectors to the developing central nervous system. This protocol describes a modification of in vivo electroporation that can be used to specifically target the developing optic tectum of zebrafish embryos beginning at 24 h post-fertilization (hpf).

The temporal resolution of in vivo electroporation in zebrafish: a method for time-resolved loss of function.

One caveat to current loss-of-function approaches in zebrafish is that they typically disrupt gene function from the beginning of development. This can be problematic when attempting to study later developmental events. In vivo electroporation is a method that has been shown to be effective at incorporating reagents into the developing nervous system at multiple later developmental stages.

Integration of calcium signals by calmodulin in rat sensory neurons.

We have used the fluorescently labelled calmodulin TA-CaM to follow calmodulin activation during depolarization of adult rat sensory neurons. Calcium concentration was measured simultaneously using the low affinity indicator Oregon Green BAPTA 5N. TA-CaM fluorescence increased during a 200-ms depolarization but then continued to increase during the subsequent 500 ms, even though total cell calcium was falling at this time.