SynCellBio: An Inquiry-Based Research Course Exploring Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology is ideally poised for integration within an undergraduate liberal arts curriculum. Topics within synthetic biology, such as genetic engineering and the generation of new lifeforms, rely upon cross-disciplinary approaches from cell biology, engineering, molecular genetics, and biochemistry. Study of these topics readily lead into broader discussions of scientific research regulation, ethics, food security, and politics. Additionally, many of the experimental approaches used in synthetic biology are readily learned and executed by undergraduates, enabling implementation of a hands-on laboratory course component. Thus, I have developed an inquiry-based synthetic biology course (SynCellBio) that utilizes a fused lecture-discussion-laboratory format that meets twice weekly. The course is a cell/molecular biology elective enrolling 14-18 students per semester. The learning goals for SynCellBio are (1) to survey the field of synthetic biology, (2) to engage students in an authentic synthetic biology research experience, and (3) to develop proficiency and breadth communicating scientific research. Students survey seminal findings and current advances in synthetic biology through weekly, student-led journal club presentations and instructor-directed group activities. In the research component of the course, students set out to fine-tune a molecular component within a synthetic yeast cell signaling system that is based on the plant hormone auxin. Students devise point mutations that they predict will modulate the degradation rate of auxin repressor parts within the synthetic yeast system. Each student writes a short NSF GRFP-style research proposal based on their hypothesis, participates in several rounds of peer review, and serves as a reviewer in a mock grant panel. Students then work in small teams to build their novel auxin repressor components, express them in the synthetic yeast system, and assess their function by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Final results are presented at a poster session. Subsequent semesters of the course build off student work from previous semesters, with the ultimate goal of publication and dissemination of the parts to the wider synthetic biology community.