1887

Evolution across the Curriculum: Microbiology

    Authors: Alita R. Burmeister1,2,3,*, James J. Smith2,3,4,5,6
    VIEW AFFILIATIONS HIDE AFFILIATIONS
    Affiliations: 1: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824; 2: Program in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824; 3: BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824; 4: Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48825; 5: Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824; 6: Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
    AUTHOR AND ARTICLE INFORMATION AUTHOR AND ARTICLE INFORMATION
    • Published 04 May 2016
    • ©2016 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology.

    • [open-access] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode), which grants the public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the published work.
    • *Corresponding author. Mailing address: 567 Wilson Road, 6176, East Lansing, MI 48824. Phone: 517-884-5396. E-mail: [email protected].
    Source: J. Microbiol. Biol. Educ. May 2016 vol. 17 no. 2 252-260. doi:10.1128/jmbe.v17i2.988
MyBook is a cheap paperback edition of the original book and will be sold at uniform, low price.
  • XML
  • PDF
    230.45 Kb
  • HTML
    64.22 Kb

    Abstract:

    An integrated understanding of microbiology and evolutionary biology is essential for students pursuing careers in microbiology and healthcare fields. In this Perspective, we discuss the usefulness of evolutionary concepts and an overall evolutionary framework for students enrolled in microbiology courses. Further, we propose a set of learning goals for students studying microbial evolution concepts. We then describe some barriers to microbial evolution teaching and learning and encourage the continued incorporation of evidence-based teaching practices into microbiology courses at all levels. Next, we review the current status of microbial evolution assessment tools and describe some education resources available for teaching microbial evolution. Successful microbial evolution education will require that evolution be taught across the undergraduate biology curriculum, with a continued focus on applications and applied careers, while aligning with national biology education reform initiatives. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education

References & Citations

1. Anderson DL, Fisher KM, Norman GJ 2002 Development and evaluation of the conceptual inventory of natural selection J Res Sci Teach 39 952 978 10.1002/tea.10053 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tea.10053
2. Antonovics J, et al 2007 Evolution by any other name: antibiotic resistance and avoidance of the E-word PLOS Biol 5 e30 10.1371/journal.pbio.0050030 17298172 1796926 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0050030
3. Baum DA, Smith SD, Donovan SSS 2005 The tree-thinking challenge Science 310 979 980 10.1126/science.1117727 16284166 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1117727
4. Berkman MB, Pacheco JS, Plutzer E 2008 Evolution and creationism in America’s classrooms: a national portrait PLOS Biol 6 e124 10.1371/journal.pbio.0060124 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0060124
5. Bishop BA, Anderson CW 1990 Student conceptions of natural selection and its role in evolution J Res Sci Teach 27 415 427 10.1002/tea.3660270503 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660270503
6. Both GW, Sleigh MJ, Cox NJ, Kendal AP 1983 Antigenic drift in influenza virus H3 hemagglutinin from 1968 to 1980: multiple evolutionary pathways and sequential amino acid changes at key antigenic sites J Virol 48 52 60 6193288 255321
7. Brumby M 1984 Misconceptions about the concept of natural selection by medical biology students Sci Educ 68 493 503
8. Brüssow H, Bruttin A, Desiere F, Lucchini S, Foley S 1998 Molecular ecology and evolution of Streptococcus thermophilus bacteriophages—a review Virus Genes 16 95 109 10.1023/A:1007957911848 http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1007957911848
9. Carrat F, Flahault A 2007 Influenza vaccine: the challenge of antigenic drift Vaccine 25 6852 6862 10.1016/j.vaccine.2007.07.027 17719149 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2007.07.027
10. Charlesworth B, Charlesworth D 2009 Darwin and genetics Genetics 183 757 766 10.1534/genetics.109.109991 19933231 2778973 http://dx.doi.org/10.1534/genetics.109.109991
11. Cloud-Hansen KA, Kuehner JN, Tong L, Miller S, Handelsman J 2008 Money, sex, and drugs: a case study to teach the genetics of antibiotic resistance Cell Biol Educ 7 302 309 10.1187/cbe.07-12-0099 http://dx.doi.org/10.1187/cbe.07-12-0099
12. Davies J, Davies D 2010 Origins and evolution of antibiotic resistance Microbiol Molec Biol Rev 74 417 433 10.1128/MMBR.00016-10 http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/MMBR.00016-10
13. Ebert D 1998 Experimental evolution of parasites Science 282 1432 1435 10.1126/science.282.5393.1432 9822369 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.282.5393.1432
14. Fass MF 2000 Teaching emerging diseases: a strategy for succeeding with nonmajors Microbiol Educ 1 20 25 10.1128/154288100X14285805520001 23653535 3633094 http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/154288100X14285805520001
15. Goel A, Wortel MT, Molenaar D, Teusink B 2012 Metabolic shifts: a fitness perspective for microbial cell factories Biotechnol Lett 34 2147 2160 10.1007/s10529-012-1038-9 22936303 3487007 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10529-012-1038-9
16. Greaves M, Maley CC 2012 Clonal evolution in cancer Nature 481 306 313 10.1038/nature10762 22258609 3367003 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature10762
17. Green DS, Bozzone DM 2001 A test of hypotheses about random mutation: using classic experiments to teach experimental design Am Biol Teach 63 54 58
18. Griffith JA, Brem SK 2004 Teaching evolutionary biology: pressures, stress, and coping J Res Sci Teach 41 791 809 10.1002/tea.20027 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tea.20027
19. Handelsman J, Houser B, Kriegel H 1997 Biology brought to life: a guide to teaching students to think like scientists William C. Brown Co. Dubuque, IA
20. Heidemann M, White PJT, Smith JJ 2016 Evolution in action: the power of mutation in E coli National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, University of Buffalo NY
21. Hensley SE, et al 2009 Hemagglutinin receptor binding avidity drives influenza A virus antigenic drift Science 326 734 736 10.1126/science.1178258 19900932 2784927 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1178258
22. Howitt S, Anderson T, Costa M 2008 A concept inventory for molecular life sciences: how will it help your teaching practice? Austral Biochem 39 14 17
23. Korolev KS, Xavier JB, Gore J 2014 Turning ecology and evolution against cancer Nature Rev Cancer 14 371 380 10.1038/nrc3712 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nrc3712
24. Krist AC, Showsh SA 2007 Experimental evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria Am Biol Teach 69 94 97 10.1662/0002-7685(2007)69[94:EEOARI]2.0.CO;2 http://dx.doi.org/10.1662/0002-7685(2007)69[94:EEOARI]2.0.CO;2
25. Lande R, Arnold SJ 1983 The measurement of selection on correlated characters Evolution 37 1216 1226 10.2307/2408842 http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2408842
26. Lark A, Richmond G, Pennock RT 2014 Modeling evolution in the classroom: the case of Fukushima’s mutant butterflies Am Biol Teach 76 450 454 10.1525/abt.2014.76.7.6 http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/abt.2014.76.7.6
27. Levy SF, Blundell JR, Venkataram S, Petrov DA, Fisher DS, Sherlock G 2015 Quantitative evolutionary dynamics using high-resolution lineage tracking Nature 519 181 186 10.1038/nature14279 25731169 4426284 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature14279
28. Mead LS, Scott EC 2010 Problem concepts in evolution part I: purpose and design Evol Educ Outreach 3 78 81 10.1007/s12052-010-0210-8 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12052-010-0210-8
29. Mead LS, Scott EC 2010 Problem concepts in evolution part II: cause and chance Evol Educ Outreach 3 261 264 10.1007/s12052-010-0231-3 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12052-010-0231-3
30. Moharreri K, Ha M, Nehm RH 2014 EvoGrader: an online formative assessment tool for automatically evaluating written evolutionary explanations Evol Educ Outreach 7 15 10.1186/s12052-014-0015-2 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12052-014-0015-2
31. Nadelson LS, Southerland SA 2009 Development and preliminary evaluation of the measure of understanding of macroevolution: introducing the MUM J Experimental Educ 78 151 190 10.1080/00220970903292983 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220970903292983
32. Nehm RH, Beggrow EP, Opfer JE, Ha M 2012 Reasoning about natural selection: diagnosing contextual competency using the ACORNS instrument Am Biol Teach 74 92 98 10.1525/abt.2012.74.2.6 http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/abt.2012.74.2.6
33. Nehm RH, et al 2008 Does the segregation of evolution in biology textbooks and introductory courses reinforce students’ faulty mental models of biology and evolution? Evol Educ Outreach 2 527 532 10.1007/s12052-008-0100-5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12052-008-0100-5
34. Nehm RH, Reilly L 2007 Biology majors’ knowledge and misconceptions of natural selection BioScience 57 263 272 10.1641/B570311 http://dx.doi.org/10.1641/B570311
35. Petrie A, Finkel SE, Erbe J 2005 Use of longterm E. coli cultures to study generation of genetic diversity & teach general microbiology laboratory skills Am Biol Teach 67 87 92 10.1662/0002-7685(2005)067[0087:UOLECC]2.0.CO;2 http://dx.doi.org/10.1662/0002-7685(2005)067[0087:UOLECC]2.0.CO;2
36. Planning Committee on Thinking Evolutionarily: Making Biology Education Make Sense, Board on Life Sciences, Division on Life Sciences, National Research Council 2012 Thinking evolutionarily: evolution education across the life sciences: summary of a convocation The National Academies Press Washington, DC
37. Price LB, et al 2012 Staphylococcus aureus CC398: host adaptation and emergence of methicillin resistance in livestock MBio 3 e00305 11 10.1128/mBio.00305-11 22354957 3280451 http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00305-11
38. Ratcliff WC, Raney A, Westreich S, Cotner S 2014 A novel laboratory activity for teaching about the evolution of multicellularity Am Biol Teach 76 81 87 10.1525/abt.2014.76.2.3 http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/abt.2014.76.2.3
39. Rector MA, Nehm RH, Pearl D 2012 Learning the language of evolution: lexical ambiguity and word meaning in student explanations Res Sci Educ 43 1107 1133 10.1007/s11165-012-9296-z http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11165-012-9296-z
40. Reeck GR, et al 1987 “Homology” in proteins and nucleic acids: a terminology muddle and a way out of it Cell 50 667 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90322-9 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0092-8674(87)90322-9
41. Robson RL, Burns S 2011 Gain in student understanding of the role of random variation in evolution following teaching intervention based on Luria-Delbrück experiment J Microbiol Biol Educ 12 3 7 10.1128/jmbe.v12i1.272 http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v12i1.272
42. Ruse M 2000 Teleology: yesterday, today, and tomorrow? Stud Hist Philos Sci 31 213 232
43. Sauer U 2001 Evolutionary engineering of industrially important microbial phenotypes Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol 73 129 169
44. Smith GP, Golomb M, Billstein SK, Montgomery Smith S 2015 An enduring legacy: the Luria-Delbrück fluctuation test as a classroom investigation in Darwinian evolution Am Biol Teach 77 614 619 10.1525/abt.2015.77.8.8 http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/abt.2015.77.8.8
45. Smith MK, Wood WB, Knight JK 2008 The genetics concept assessment: a new concept inventory for gauging student understanding of genetics Cell Biol Educ 7 422 430 10.1187/cbe.08-08-0045 http://dx.doi.org/10.1187/cbe.08-08-0045
46. Taubenberger JK, Kash JC 2010 Influenza virus evolution, host adaptation, and pandemic formation Cell Host Microbe 7 440 451 10.1016/j.chom.2010.05.009 20542248 2892379 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2010.05.009
47. Wiggins G, McTighe J 1998 Understanding by design Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Alexandria, VA
48. Wright S 1931 Evolution in Mendelian populations Genetics 16 97 159 17246615 1201091

Supplemental Material

No supplementary material available for this content.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journal/jmbe/10.1128/jmbe.v17i2.988
2016-05-04
2021-01-19

Abstract:

An integrated understanding of microbiology and evolutionary biology is essential for students pursuing careers in microbiology and healthcare fields. In this Perspective, we discuss the usefulness of evolutionary concepts and an overall evolutionary framework for students enrolled in microbiology courses. Further, we propose a set of learning goals for students studying microbial evolution concepts. We then describe some barriers to microbial evolution teaching and learning and encourage the continued incorporation of evidence-based teaching practices into microbiology courses at all levels. Next, we review the current status of microbial evolution assessment tools and describe some education resources available for teaching microbial evolution. Successful microbial evolution education will require that evolution be taught across the undergraduate biology curriculum, with a continued focus on applications and applied careers, while aligning with national biology education reform initiatives. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education

Highlighted Text: Show | Hide
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/jmbe/17/2/jmbe-17-252.xml.a.html?itemId=/content/journal/jmbe/10.1128/jmbe.v17i2.988&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

Author and Article Information

  • Published 04 May 2016
  • ©2016 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology.

  • [open-access] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode), which grants the public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the published work.
  • *Corresponding author. Mailing address: 567 Wilson Road, 6176, East Lansing, MI 48824. Phone: 517-884-5396. E-mail: [email protected].

Back to top
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Please check the format of the address you have entered.
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error