Course-based research pedagogy involves positioning students as contributors to authentic research projects as part of an engaging educational experience that promotes their learning and persistence in science. To develop a model for assessing and grading students engaged in this type of learning experience, the assessment aims and practices of a community of experienced course-based research instructors were collected and analyzed. This approach defines four aims of course-based research assessment—(1) Assessing Laboratory Work and Scientific Thinking; (2) Evaluating Mastery of Concepts, Quantitative Thinking and Skills; (3) Appraising Forms of Scientific Communication; and (4) Metacognition of Learning—along with a set of practices for each aim. These aims and practices of assessment were then integrated with previously developed models of course-based research instruction to reveal an assessment program in which instructors provide extensive feedback to support productive student engagement in research while grading those aspects of research that are necessary for the student to succeed. Assessment conducted in this way delicately balances the need to facilitate students’ ongoing research with the requirement of a final grade without undercutting the important aims of a CRE education.

Two of the biggest issues in the healthcare system today are antibiotic resistant bacteria and biofilms. Antibiotic‐resistant bacterial strains are increasing, and current treatment options have become limited forcing medical facilities to search for alternatives. Recent studies utilizing phage therapy have provided promising results supporting the use of bacteriophages to treat bacterial infections. (Hatfull, 2021). A bacteriophage is a virus that only infects prokaryotic bacterial cells and therefore, potentially used to treat bacterial infections without risk of infecting the patient’s eukaryotic cells. This research focuses on the isolation and microbiological characterization of bacteriophages isolated from environmental samples against the Actinomycete host, Gordonia rubripertincta. Gordonia species are typically found in soil and aquatic habitats and have recently been identified as primary agents of infections in both humans and animals (Pope, et al., 2020). Due to these organisms’ ability to form biofilms, infections have been found following various surgical procedures and applications of catheters (Arenskötter, et al., 2004). Following a Gordonia‐enrichment protocol, standard viral lab techniques such as serial dilutions, pick‐a‐plaque, and spot‐plating were performed resulting in pure viral colonies. Genomic DNA was isolated and sequenced by the Pittsburgh Bacteriophage Institute. Genomes were annotated using Phamerator™, PECAAN™, and NCBI BLAST bioinformatics programs. Host‐range specificity studies and gene knock‐out experiments were conducted using phylogenetically‐related Actinomycetes to assist understanding of the molecular interactions between phage and host throughout the infection cycle. Several bacteriophages were identified which exhibit both lytic and temperate life cycles against known clinical, biofilm‐producing Actinomycete bacteria Nocardia asteroides and N. corallina.This research exemplifies the potential of using phage therapy to create an alternative treatment for antibiotic‐resistant bacteria and biofilms within the healthcare system.

The course-based research experience (CRE) with its documented educational benefits is increasingly being implemented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. This article reports on a study that was done over a period of 3 years to explicate the instructional processes involved in teaching an undergraduate CRE. One hundred and two instructors from the established and large multi-institutional SEA-PHAGES program were surveyed for their understanding of the aims and practices of CRE teaching. This was followed by large-scale feedback sessions with the cohort of instructors at the annual SEA Faculty Meeting and subsequently with a small focus group of expert CRE instructors. Using a qualitative content analysis approach, the survey data were analyzed for the aims of inquiry instruction and pedagogical practices used to achieve these goals. The results characterize CRE inquiry teaching as involving three instructional models: 1) being a scientist and generating data; 2) teaching procedural knowledge; and 3) fostering project ownership. Each of these models is explicated and visualized in terms of the specific pedagogical practices and their relationships. The models present a complex picture of the ways in which CRE instruction is conducted on a daily basis and can inform instructors and institutions new to CRE teaching.

As of 2015, nearly 80% of the world's virgin plastic ended up in a landfill or the natural environment, a majority accredited to the packaging industry. Due to the composition of the durable plastic, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the primary polymer found in single-use packaging, is not naturally biodegradable and thus accumulates. Recently, several microbes were discovered that could degrade the plastic compounds within their gut with no signs of toxicity. Ideonella sakaiensisis a novel bacterium capable of depolymerizing PET using a hydrolase termed PETase. An additional enzyme, MHETase, aids in converting dimers for the complete recovery of monomers within I. sakaiensis. Ultimately, efficiency in degrading PET of varying crystallinity occurs with a preference of low crystallinity PET, in opposition to other species currently known. During degradation, I. sakaiensisforms a thin biofilm over the plastic. It is known that the cells contain special appendages to adhere to the plastic surface, however, little research has been conducted on how the biofilm formation affects the degradation process. Multi-species biofilms have been shown to create complex communities for enhanced PET degradation in marine plastic debris using other bacterial strains. This research aims to study the biofilm formation as well as its effects on its degradation properties of I. sakaiensisas an isolate, as well as a dual species biofilm with known biofilm forming bacteria: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The first half of the project characterized the effects of introducing biofilm forming bacteria on I. sakaiensis' biofilm growth. The second half of the project analyzes the biofilm growth along with a degradation assay to determine the effects of these bacterial strains on the degradation process of I. sakaiensis. These effects were then evaluated to determine the role of biofilm formation in the degradation process. This study provides a foundation that can be used by the biotech, environmental, and molecular communities to lead to a commercialization of plastic degradation products, ultimately creating a circular and stable economy within the consumer world.

West Nile Virus (WNV) is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the United States, however there is currently no vaccine that can be used on humans to prevent or treat the infection. WNV is a +RNA virus of ~11 kbp and translated from a single open reading frame to produce a single polyprotein. This polyprotein is post-translationally processed into three structural and seven non-structural proteins. Specifically, NS2B and NS3 WNV proteins correspond to a serine protease which is required for further WNV viral replication (Nitsche 2018). Inhibition of this serine protease therefore represents an outstanding opportunity to possibly develop antiviral therapy. This research uses PCR to isolate a functional serine protease (NS2B/NS3), when expressed in the model bacterial organism, Escherichia coli (Shannon, 2016). An NS2B/NS2 serine protease assay will confirm the functionality of the enzyme. Utilization of known serpin (serpin protease inhibitors) will be used as positive control for the assay (Sanchez-Navarro, AS et al., 2021). Utilization of the validated assay for NS2B/NS3 targeted mutagenesis through CRISPR/Cas9 or chemical mutagens, resulting in the identification of amino acid residues critical for functional WNV serine protease. These residues taken together with protein modelling and structure-based design experiment, could then be used for drug development to generate novel chemical compounds or identify alternative natural product serpins (e.g. from bacteria, fungi, plants) which could ultimately prevent the virus from carrying out its final steps in replication and therefore inhibiting its ability to infect its host.

West Nile virus (WNV), is a serious mosquito-borne zoonotic disease. There is currently no vaccine or treatment. The prevalence of WNV is particularly high in South Dakota with the primary species of carrier being Culex tarsalis. MiRNAs are a class of non-coding RNAs that modulate a wide range of cellular processes (Chugh PE, Damania 2014). In particular, miRNAs have been shown to actively participate in an antiviral defense mechanism in mosquitoes, however, they appear to differ per virus-vector combination (Göertz GP et al., 2019). Research surrounding the production of miRNAs in response to viral infections has discovered >70 different miRNAs depending upon genus/species of mosquito vectors are produced (Göertz GP et al., 2019). A critical question then becomes "why do some mosquito species produce certain miRNAs in response to WNV infection while other species do not?". In order to begin understanding this phenomenon, it is important to examine what specific miRNAs are produced in vivo following WNV infection. The following research describes the utilization of total RNA isolated from Cx. tarsalis (+/- WNV determined via envelope/probe-specific qRT-PCR). Viral load/mosquito pool was determined following TaqMan™ miRNA profiling. Amplified miRNA products were arrayed into libraries, sequenced, and analyzed through NCBI analysis tools (BLAST™, BowTie2™). Results presented detected different viral infections (viral load within pools of Cx. tarsalis) corresponding to specific miRNAs. This knowledge could be key to understanding why certain species of mosquitoes transmit WNV compared to others and hopefully aid health care procedures surrounding WNV infections in both animals and humans.

Chitin and carbon nanotubes can both confer extraordinary physical properties upon polymers that contain them. However, these materials are also highly insoluble in most common organic solvents, making them difficult to utilize without first modifying or functionalizing them, which can alter their properties. Natural organisms produce peptides that utilize or demonstrate affinity for these materials, which can be exploited by designing a protein capable of binding to both chitin and carbon nanotubes and of cross‐linking to form a biopolymer.

GM1 ganglioside is a naturally occurring glycosphingolipid that cannot be synthesized in significant quantities; so it needs to be isolated as a natural product. Researchers at Glycoscience Research, Inc. (GRI – Toronto, SD) have developed a novel, verified, ovine source for producing GM1 ganglioside at levels needed for pharmaceutical applications. GM1 gangliosides have been shown to be an effective therapeutic against Huntington's disease as well as a potential promising lead against Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, and dementia (Holler, et al., 2016). Research presented here attempts to address the biochemical quantification of purified GM1 ganglioside isolated from afflicted/non‐afflicted lamb muscle to definitively show no significant differences in GM1 levels between the two meat sources. Chloroform:methanol extraction, anion exchange chromatography (AEC) and High Performance Thin‐Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) followed by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and MS/MS Spectrophotometry analysis compares similarities and differences in GM1 concentration levels between muscle tissue from lambs afflicted with the genetic disease of overproducing GM1 ganglioside and normal, wildtype lamb muscle.Support or Funding InformationThis material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation/EPSCoR Cooperative Agreement #IIA‐1355423 and by the State of South Dakota, SD‐GOED, NSF I‐Corps Team Program and Dr. Larry and Sue Holler, GlycoScience Research IncorporatedThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.