2004-2005 Research Project

The WSSP research project for the 2004/2005 year focused on the genomic sequence analysis of C. remanei, a nematode closely related to C. elegans, and how the genes in this organism compare to other species of worms and higher eukaryotes. Students in the project isolated and sequenced genes from a genomic plasmid library of C. remanei. They then analyzed these sequences using the DNA Sequence Analysis Program (DSAP) The sequences of these genes has never been determined before and this information was deposited in the NCBI sequence databases for the students and other scientists to use. Students in the program compared these sequences with genes from other eukaryotes to determine the evolutionary relationship of these organisms and the sequence conservation of specific genes. During the course of these studies, students, teachers, and research scientists work together, using the basic principles of molecular biology and genetic engineering to try to solve this research problem. By actually doing science, teachers and students gain an understanding of how science operates.