Use of C. Elegans as a genetics didactic tool in middle school

NANCY RIBAS; DAN PÉREZ; ANDREA REVEL CHION; DIEGO MARTÍN JOFRÉ; ABELARDO SZTRUM; DANIEL HOCHBAUM

Congreso; 2ND Latin American Worm Meeting; 2020

This work aims to find better strategies to help students identify, among other elements, the links between science/society and the democratization of scientific knowledge. ORT?s Chemistry and Biotechnology Orientation, within the framework of the course in Genetics and Molecular Biology, utilized the model organism C. elegans to facilitate robust learning in gene silencing. With the support of the Ageing Genetics Lab at the University of Buenos Aires? School of Exact and Natural Sciences, as well as with the guidance of a science education specialist from the same university, 5 lessons of 160 minutes each were designed. In these lessons students learned about the biology of C. elegans, its uses as a research model, the experimental design of gene silencing through RNAi, and the social relevance of such studies for basic science. Following a theoretical introduction, 69 students from 3 different courses, shared their hypotheses and expected results after silencing the expression of the genes hbl-1 and sqt-3, in addition to the empty vector L4440 as a control. The hypotheses were then tested in the lab by silencing these genes through feeding of transformed E. coli expressing a dsRNA for each gene of interest. After conclusions were obtained, Dr. Hochbaum presented a talk, in which he delved deeper into certain aspects of C. elegans research. Finally, students worked in groups to contrast the results obtained with their initial hypotheses; they identified the functionality of each step in the protocol applied and extrapolated the potential of this technique to other applications. The appropriation of content, through the work in cognitive abilities such as the development of hypotheses, lab manipulation, phenotype observation, scientific reasoning, development of methodological schemes, and communication, allowed for the interrelation of the epistemological, methodological, and social dimensions in this research area, as well as in basic science in general.