West Virginia University
Summer Institute
2012
Group 1
General Biology & Microbiology
Group 1:
General Biology & Microbiology
Andrea Beyer
Virginia Commonwealth University
Samantha Jusino
West Virginia University
Michael Lague
The Richard Stockton College of NJ
DeLacy Rhodes
Virginia Commonwealth University
Michelle Withers (Facilitator)
West Virginia University
Melissa Zwick
The Richard Stockton College of NJ
• Target audience
– Introductory biology for majors
– First few weeks of class
– Prior student knowledge
• Scientific process
• Basic chemistry/basic math skills
• Cells
– Pre-test knowledge
• Four major classes of macromolecules
• Basic structures of macromolecules
• Polar, non-polar, hydrophobic, hydrophilic
• Goal:
– Understand the different roles that lipids play in
the cell membrane.
• Learning Outcomes:
– Illustrate the characteristics of lipids that make
them the choice molecules for membranes.
– Predict membrane characteristics based on
changes in lipid composition.
• Omega-3 – A GOOD FAT!?!
• Butter is solid at room temperature,
oil is liquid at room temperature.
• Which one of the structures below
would make up butter?
Glycerol
Fatty acid
Triglycerides
A
B
Which one of these is saturated?
A
B
• Omega-3 – Polyunsaturated fat
• Cell membrane
– Barrier between inside and outside of cell
– Selectively permeable due to membrane fluidity
– Main structural component: phospholipids
Triglyceride
Phospholipid
Which of the following would occur immediately after
the red cell and blue cell fuse?
Which of the following would occur at a much later
time point?
A.
B.
If the membranes of the two fused cells
are represented by the pictures on the
right, match the time it would take to get
from fusion to dispersal for each
condition.
1. Shortest time
2. Intermediate time
3. Longest time
A.
B.
C.
fusion
dispersal
A Fishy Dilemma
You are a scientist working for a new vitamin company. You
have been tasked with finding a new source for omega-3 fatty
acids from fish. You received the data shown below that
summarizes the fatty acid content in 4 populations of fish.
Cold-adapted Marine Fish
Warm-adapted Marine Fish
Cold-adapted Freshwater Fish
Warm-adapted Freshwater Fish
Dey et al. 1993. PNAS
A Fishy Dilemma
• Based on what you know about temperatures and
lipids, which fatty acid would you predict to be
saturated? Unsaturated?
• Does salt appear to have an effect on the presence
of fatty acids in the fish? Explain how you know.
• Which location produces the best fish for omega-3
harvest?
• Why do we care about membrane fluidity?