Program Book - 27th Fungal Genetics Conference

FULL POSTER SESSION ABSTRACTSThis is in contrast to bipolar systems where recombination can still occur, giving rise to more mating types similar to tetrapolar mating systems. We alsoprovide some initial comparative analysis of the MAT region of M. restricta.Education and Professional Development351. The internet effectiveness for gaining students enrolled at college of education The scientific facts and concepts about Biofuel issue according tothe Responsibility Spiral model. Khlood S AlSheikh. Science Education, K.A.U, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.This study was conducted to ascertain the effectiveness of the internet gaining students enrolled at college of education the scientific facts, concepts anddisagreement about Biofuel issue according to the Responsibility Spiral model. The study used a quasi-experimental design. The study sample consisted of76 students divided into two groups. The experimental group consisted of 37 students, whereas the control group consisted of 39 students. The studyused materials and activities according to the Responsibility Spiral model. Each stages of the waks (1992) model consisted of objectives, content, teachingand learning activities and evaluation tools. The results showed statistically significant differences between the mean score of the experimental groupwhich gained the scientific facts and concepts about Biofuel issue according to the Responsibility Spiral model and the mean score of the control group.The result showed that there is an opposite relationship between the model stages and t-test that if the model expands the value of t-test decreased.Based on the results, the researcher recommends that the internet is not enough tools for advanced stages of the Responsibility Spiral model.352. ComGen Authentic Research Experiences (C-ARE): Fungal genetic analysis. Gita Bangera 1 , Andrea Gargas 2 . 1) Bellevue College, Bellevue, WA, USA; 2)Symbiology LLC, Middleton, WI, USA.ComGen (Community College Genomics Research Initiative) teaches students the skills of self-directed learning, critical thinking, and analysis.Community college students in this program receive a mini-graduate school experience, following a single requisite course in cell biology. Students workon original research projects, learn to troubleshoot their experiments, organize lab meetings and student journal clubs, and network within the scientificcommunity. In one research track students work with DNA from described fungal collections, learning DNA-based techniques including PCR amplification,DNA sequencing and sequence analysis. Student-gathered sequence information is used to advance identification and phylogenetic results for thesecollections. With NSF Award DUE #1225857 ComGen (C-ARE): Dissemination, Enrichment and Expansion Project the project will be expanding tocommunity college partners throughout the Seattle/Tacoma region of Washington State.353. Facilitating an Interdisciplinary Learning Community Amongst Undergraduate Research Fellows By Emphasizing Scientific Inquiry as the UnifyingThread. Virginia K. Hench 1,2 , Patricia J. Pukkila 1,2 . 1) Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC 27599; 2) Office forUndergraduate Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC 27599.The HHMI-Future Scientists and Clinicians (HHMI-FSC) fellowship is 1 of 3 components of the HHMI Science Learning Communities program at UNCChapel Hill. The HHMI-FSC program was designed to foster an intellectual community that empowers high-ability students from low-incomebackgrounds to engage in biomedical research for 2 summers. Each year, 12 new fellows are matched with mentors in labs spanning a range of biomedicalareas. They work fulltime in labs on their own research project and meet weekly as a group to engage in interactive programming that targets skills criticalfor success in science beyond the bench. One area of emphasis has been the process of inquiry itself. The goal is for students to transition from being apair of hands executing protocols to active learners invested in their own projects and able to speak with authority about why experiments are performedin particular ways and what conclusions can be drawn from data generated. This starts with coaching students to state the questions that they are tryingto answer and think through whether an experimental setup is consistent with what they say they are trying to find out. Assignments and feedback aredesigned to reinforce this principle. One of the most satisfying aspects of doing science is getting to follow one’s own instinctive curiosities and developthe methodologies needed to navigate new terrains. Undergraduates are usually still trying to define their own specific curiosities. Pushing students todescribe what they are curious and passionate about is one feasible strategy that can help students identify pursuits that fit their interests and talents.Another successful strategy has been to require returning second year fellows to share science learning experiences via 15-30 minute long talks for theirpeers. Some took the opportunity to become more immersed in their lab’s focus, while others branched into questions like what motivates scientists towork in foreign countries and what has genomic anthropology told us about human evolution. Project aims were developed through conversationsbetween the fellow and instructor. The one constraint was for fellows to organize their presentations around questions. Feedback indicated thatpresenters benefited from having to give presentations and others enjoyed learning about a broader array of topics.Gene Regulation354. YAB- An Agrobacterium-based vector system for direct cloning of eukaryotic gene constructs via yeast recombination. M Alejandra Mandel, Marc JOrbach. School of Plant Sciences and The Bio5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) has become the preferred method to introduce modified genes in many fungal systems.Therefore, there is a need for a simple and efficient method to create gene constructs in an ATMT vector. Generation of ATMT constructs usually requiresPCR-amplification of DNA fragments and multiple cloning steps into binary Agrobacterium vectors. Advances have been made with attB/attP-basedsystems (e.g. pTroya, Gene-blast, DelsGate) that shorten the number of steps required for generating plasmid constructs, however these constructsrequire a final sub-cloning step into an Agrobacterium vector. One of these systems, OSCAR, combines PCR and attB/attP-based technology in anAgrobacterium platform. All of these methods require the use of commercial enzymes and usually involve one or more PCR amplification steps. There arealso plasmid vectors that use yeast transformation-associated recombination (TAR) which do not require the use of enzymes for cloning, but can only beused to transform fungi via electroporation, protoplast transformation or biolistics. We present here YAB (for Yeast-Agrobacterium-Bacteria), a vector thatcombines the homologous recombination properties of yeast in an Agrobacterium vector backbone that can be used to create any kind of gene construct(e.g. gene deletion mutants, fluorescence-tagged genes, overexpression, RNAi) to directly transform fungi in one step. DNA fragments are cloned into YABvia recombination between 22-nucleotide compatible ends generated by PCR, or by using short oligomers that “bridge” the DNA fragment with the vector,thus avoiding the need for amplification steps. YAB-Hph has a 1.4-kb Hygromycin phosphotransferase cassette flanked by the left and right borders of theTi plasmid. This vector was used to generate whole-gene deletion mutants by TAR in one step, that were directly introduced into fungi.355. Removal of C4-methyl Sterol Accumulation in a SREBP-null Mutant of Aspergillus fumigatus Restores Hypoxia Growth. Sara J. Blosser 1 , Brittney27th Fungal Genetics Conference | 207