Genome Biology, Spr 04, Special Topics  Page 1
BIOLOGY 421
NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY  DEPARTMENT
OF
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
GENOME BIOLOGY
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SPECIAL TOPICS PRESENTATION
SUMMER 2004
DEADLINES:
Introductory AssignmentFriday, 18 June, 9:00 AM
Manuscript & Slides DueMonday, 12 July, 9:00 AM
Student Presentation BeginWednesday, 14 July 9:00 AM
GOAL: to derive knowledge and develop skills necessary to communicate authoritatively on
genome biology.
OBJECTIVES: You will summarize information on a specific microbial genome project and
present this information to the genome biology class both in the form of a manuscript and an oral
presentation.
DIRECTIONS: You will be randomly assigned a species of microbe that has been the focus of
a genome project. The project findings on this species’ genome are the focus of your summary.
Manuscript. The manuscript you prepare will be a two-page, typewritten summary of your
readings on a specific genome project. This manuscript will be photocopied and distributed to
your fellow classmates as a study guide for the final examination of the course. For this reason,
the manuscript must be both informative and clear. The manuscript will consist of two pages,
and each page should have single spacing, 12-point Times (or Times Roman or Times New
Roman) typeface, and one-inch margins in all dimensions.
Page One. Your title, The Genome of [Genus Species], should appear on line one, and
your name should appear on line two. Line three should be blank, and the next 40-43
lines should contain paragraphical summaries of important aspects of your topic.
Page Two: A list of references (bibliography) used in preparation of your summary
should appear at the top of the page. Any figures referred to on page one, or any figure
that might serve to convey information about the topic, can appear on the remainder of
the page.
Oral Presentation. The oral presentation will consist of 7-10 slides, including a title and
summary slide, created in MS Power Point. The oral presentation will be 10 minutes in length,
and will be followed by a minimum of five minutes of discussion, including questions.
Content. The content of your manuscript can contain any basic or otherwise interesting
information about your particular topical species and the discoveries made through analysis of its
genome. Some specific questions to answer in your presentation are:
Genome Biology, Spr 04, Special Topics  Page 2












What is a general description and general classification of the organism?
Why is it so important that a genome project was undertaken to study it?
What are the notable characteristics of the organism? Is the organism important in
human history, agriculture, or health?
What are the basic features of the genome? What are the unusual features of the
genome?
What is the genome’s size in base-pairs and in number of genes?
Does the organism host more DNA molecules than a single chromosome? Are there
extrachromosomal DNA molecules?
What are the special findings/peculiarities discovered through the genome project?
Are there special or unique genes? Are there mobile elements? repeats, introns?
operons?
Are similar species undergoing genome projects? How do these other genomes
compare?
How do these special findings make the organism unique?
How do genome findings relate to organism's way of life?
How do scientists/does industry intend to apply these specific findings?
Resources. References for your presentation can be obtained from any of multiple sources:
 The www, especially the websites listed on your course syllabus.
 The campus library, particularly in issues of Science and Nature, or any other library with
science (particularly genomics) holdings.
 On-line, through links to abstracts listed in Medline or PubMed, and these articles are
sometimes free or sometimes incur a charge. Instead of paying for these dowloadable
reports, you may either visit a regional library (like LSU Health Sciences Center’) or
request a reprint of the article directly from the author. Pubmed lists the mailing addresses
and sometimes email addresses beneath the report’s title. If you wish to contact the author
either by regular mail or by email, please follow the standard of scientific courtesy
illustrated in the example below.
Dear Dr. Doucet,
Please send me a reprint of your article, “Acadian Usher Syndrome,” which
appears in the Spring 1999 issue of the Proceedings of the Louisiana Academy
of Sciences, Volume 62, pages 16-27.
Sincerely yours,
[Your name and Address]
Evaluation. As stated in your syllabus, the presentation component will contribute 20% of your
course grade. Each part of the presentation, the manuscript and the oral presentation, will be
considered equivalently, and therefore each will contribute 10% of your final grade. The
following lists describe the criteria upon which your presentation and paper will be graded:
Genome Biology, Spr 04, Special Topics  Page 3
Report
Quality of research and reporting10%
Clarity of writing10%
Appropriateness of citing
resources10%
Proper formatting10%
Informativeness10%
Presentation
Informativeness10%
Clarity and effectiveness of
presentation10%
Quality of graphics10%
Proper formatting10%
Ability to answer questions10%
Format. The manuscript must be submitted on white paper and in black type, suitable for
photocopying. The oral presentation graphics must be submitted in any of three different ways:
on a 3.5” floppy diskette, on a ZIP diskette, or on a CD.
Responsibility. You, and specifically not your computer or the Internet, are responsible for the
timely and effective submission of your presentation assignment. You are responsible for
composition and creation of both parts of the presentation. You are responsible for obtaining
references to support your presentation. You are responsible for finding answers to basic
questions about the genome of your topic, including but not limited to those listed above under
Content. You are responsible for a basic understanding of your topic sufficient to answer basic
questions from an audience of peers. You are responsible for participating in question and
answer sessions following each presentation.
Due Dates. All materials (a manuscript and an electronic/diskette copy of slides) must be
submitted by 9:00 AM on Monday, 12 July. In addition, you should make yourself available for
contact for the duration of that date in case there are problems downloading your graphics slides
file to the presentation computer. Oral presentations will occur on 14, 15, and 16 July in a
randomly or semi-randomly determined order to be announced later. To be equitable, you (all
students) should be prepared to give your presentation on 16 July, the first day of presentations.
SPECIAL TOPICS SPECIES ASSIGNMENT: The following table lists lottery numbers and
species assignment for Summer 2004. In the case that your assignment lists two organisms (like
Mycobacterium and Saccharomyces), your assignment will involve comparing two closely
related genomes. Lottery numbers will be drawn at random in class on Monday, 14 June. You
should remember your lottery number, because it may be used later in the semester.
Lotto #
Special Topics Species Assignment
1 Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Lotto # Special Topics Species Assignment
9 Saccharomyces cerevisiae & Saccharomyces pombe
2 Deinococcus radiodurans
10 Salmonella typhi
3 Haemophilus influenzae
11 Escherichia coli
4 Helicobacter pylori
12 Staphylococcus aureus
5 Mycobacterium leprae & Mycobacterium tuberculosis
13 Streptococcus pyogenes
6 Wigglesworthia glossinidia brevipalpis
14 Thermoplasma volcanium
7 Mycoplasma genitalium
15 Vibrio cholerae
8 Rickettsia prowazekii
16 Yershinia pestis
Genome Biology, Spr 04, Special Topics  Page 4
INTRODUCTORY ASSIGNMENT
Research, write, type, and print a 100-150-word overview of your assigned species and its
genome. You may use any library or Internet resource for this summary. Below your overview,
include a bibliography of 5-8 references that you intend to use for your final manuscript (due 14
July); at least three of these references must be reports from scientific journals. Visit PubMed,
the abstracting service for scientific journals, find three references on the genome of your topic,
print the displayed abstracts of these references, attach them to the paragraph, and submit all by
9:00 AM on Friday, 18 June. This will count for your week two quiz, but you must submit in
person.
You should consider making a second copy of this summary and these abstracts for your future
use.