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[GROUP COMPONENT] – Submit one document per group
Instructions
I. List all members of your group
II. Present your group’s research question(s). If they have not changed, you can state the same
questions as those included in any previous project assignment. If they have changed, restate
the new question(s) and include comments indicating they have been modified.
III. Each group member must select and collect information on at least one unique candidate
gene that may be involved in one or more phenotypes you are examining in the course of your
project. No two group members should research the same gene; therefore, you must
coordinate with one another to examine different genes. All group members should share their
findings within one another and combine their results into one document for the Group
Component of the assignment.
You may select genes that have been the focus of previous research on your specific research
question or genes based on what you have learned about their function. For each gene you
select, address each of the prompts below in the order in which they are presented. Present
BIOS 10140 Inquiry-based Exploration in Biology (Neurobiology) Spring 2022
the information for one gene at a time and fully address all prompts. Then move on to
presenting the next gene. Along the way, make sure all members of the group are aware of the
steps taken and the information being collected. Even though each student in the group should
collect information on at least one gene, the whole group is responsible for the work submitted
in this document. Therefore, it is important that share with one another the work you are
contributing to the project. Review the work of your fellow group members and offer feedback
as needed.
For each gene (note: each group member must select a unique gene to research):
A. State the name of gene along with any abbreviation you will be using throughout this
assignment. Indicate what the gene codes for, if known (e.g., the XXX gene codes for the XXX
protein). Please also indicate which member of the group was responsible for collecting the
information on that gene.
B. Use one or more genomic databases (e.g., GenBank, BLAST, The European Bioinformatics
Institute (EMBL-EBI), WormBase, etc.) to provide information about the gene and its product,
including the following:
i. length of the gene (i.e., number of nucleotides) or its mRNA; be sure to indicate
whether you are reporting the length of the gene or the mRNA; [note: several sequences may
have been published for your gene; in that case, indicate there are multiple published sequence
(and approximately how many), and report results for at leas

t one published sequence.]
ii. the number of variants (alleles) identified; if several have been identified, you can
provide an approximate number (e.g., at least 100); briefly describe the nature of a few of the
variations (i.e., whether they are missense, nonsense, copy number, deletion, insertion, etc.)
iii. whether there are orthologs/homologs, and if so, how their sequences compare to
one another (i.e., the degree of sequence identity); this information may not be directly
reported, but with the gene sequences, you can use methods discussed in class to determine
sequence identity; if there are more than two orthologs, select at least two to compare;
vi. the pattern of gene expression (i.e., the cells/tissues in which the gene is expressed)
and the species in which that expression pattern was determined; please also indicate whether
the expression data is based on protein or mRNA-based methods. Draw from at least two
sources of information related to gene expression.
C. Use one or more protein databases (e.g., Protein Data Bank, The European Bioinformatics
Institute, UniProt, etc.) to provide information about the structure of the protein coded by the
gene, including the following:
i. information related to the protein’s secondary structure (i.e., whether there are alpha
helical regions and/or Beta pleated sheets and approximately how many);
[Note: Complete structural data might not be available for the protein coded by a given gene;
this may be because the protein has not yet been studied or its size presents challenges to
resolving the three-dimensional structure. If you are unable to find protein structure data,
consider exploring whether segments (i.e., domains) of the protein have been examined or
whether there are data available for homologous proteins.]
BIOS 10140 Inquiry-based Exploration in Biology (Neurobiology) Spring 2022
ii. whether there is reported information about the effect of genetic variations on the
protein’s structure.
[Note: if you are unable to find information describing the effect of variations on the protein’s
three-dimensional structure, report 2-3 known mutations/variations that affect the protein’s
primary structure and propose a hypothesis to explain how those changes could affect
secondary and tertiary or quaternary structure.]
D. Write out a complete reference list for articles and other resources you have used. This
includes specific pages in the databases you used. Follow the guidelines provided in the
Research Project module on Canvas and be sure to also inde in-line citations throughout
your document. Your reader should know from which source you drew each piece of
information