Introduction

How many more times is your teacher going to say that DNA is the code for life?! You have heard this statement over and over again, but do you know what it really means, how it happens, or why it is significant to you? Here's your chance to finally find out what your teacher is talking about. 

You and your partner are biochemists who work for the bioengineering firm ATCG Enterprises.  Your lab manager, Polly Peptide, has come to you and your partner with a serious problem:  if you cannot meet your deadline to design the manufacture of a human protein or enzyme, you will lose your grant money and will have to go back to teaching high school biology!  Use the concept of genetic engineering to design the production of the protein or enzyme of your choice, and then present this proposal to Polly and members of the Amino Acid Institute, the funder of your grant.

To meet your deadline and keep your funding, you and your partner will be required to:

• choose a human protein or enzyme to investigate 
• find a model representing its molecular structure
• explain how it is used by the human body
• relate it to other molecules having similar functions in another animal or organism
• determine its amino acid sequence
• plan how you will create this molecule using genetic engineering
• synthesize everything you have learned to explain the statement, "DNA is the code for life".
• finally, report to Polly Peptide (aka your teacher) and the Amino Acid Institute members (your classmates) with a 5-10 minute presentation on your molecule which includes visual aids (transparencies, posters or powerpoint recommended)

Reminder: Your presentation needs to include visual aids. You need to let the lab manager know what type of visual aids you will be presenting so that you have access to the proper equipment on the day of your presentation.

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The Process

To accomplish your task, follow the steps provided below:

1. Choose your partner. Make this a wise decision as you will be working closely with this person and you will need to distribute the workload.
2. See your lab manager to receive a pocket folder. It is recommended that you and your partner store all of your information in this folder to stay organized. If you would like to make duplicate copies of your work and store it in an additional folder, see your lab manager.
3. Next, you and your partner need to select a human protein or enzyme to investigate. Refer to the resources listed at the end of your steps for molecules to choose from.
4. Once you have chosen your molecule, get approval to proceed from your lab manager. Approval will be based on a first come first served basis, as other lab groups are also facing deadlines, and your lab manager cannot allow duplicates.
5. Find the molecular structure of your protein or enzyme, and keep this for part of your visual presentation. On the molecule, note any active sites or integral parts of the molecule which aids its function. It is at this point that you should read about the primary, secondary, tertiary, and quartenary structure of proteins so that you understand how it obtained its shape. Extra credit for determining the molecular formula! Use the resources at the end of your steps to complete this task.
6. Investigate how this molecule is used by the human body. Refer in to your list of resources for information. Ask yourself the following questions as you complete this step:
• What is it's function? What molecule(s) or system(s) does it interact with or influence?
• Is this molecule used by every cell in the body or is it specific to a particular system?
• If there is an active site or other integral part (which there should be), how is it involved?
• Is this molecule constantly being synthesized by the body, or is this a molecule that is made sporadically or made only at a certain time in one's life?
• How necessary is this molecule to an individual's survival? What would be the benefit, if any, of mass-producing this molecule?
• What disorder(s) or disease(s) could result from a mutation in the amino acid sequence of the molecule or in the loss of the entire molecule?
7. Relate it to other molecules having similar functions in another animal or organism. In other words, is this molecule or a similar molecule found in other living things? What is the significance of this?
8. Determine the amino acid sequence of the molecule and use this sequence to predict a possible DNA sequence for the amino acid sequence. This may be a difficult task, but there are several websites that will provide you with the amino acid sequence. It is suggested that you try the resources listed, and if you still cannot find the sequence for your molecule it is very important to let your lab manager know immediately after checking out these websites.
9. Plan how you will create this molecule using genetic engineering. To do this, you need to know what genetic engineering is and how it is done. You also need to know how the process of protein synthesis (transcription and translation) occurs in eukaryotic cells. Refer to your resource list for help.
10. Synthesize everything you have learned to explain the statement, "DNA is the code for life".
11. Finally, report to the lab manager (your teacher) and the Amino Acid Institute members (your classmates) with a 5-10 minute presentation on your molecule which includes visual aides (transparencies, posters or powerpoint recommended). This must be submitted as a written report as well. Use proper MLA format when citing resources in your written report.

This work should be distributed between you and your partner unless you decide to work together on each step. Do not forget to refer back to the steps outlined in this process to make sure that you are still on task. You and your partner may want to print out this part of the webquest and use it as a checklist so that you can chart your progress.

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LINKS AND RESOURCES

http://www.ibc.wustl.edu/klotho/
Klotho: Biochemical Compounds Declarative Database; stick models

http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/mom/
Molecules of the Month from University of Oxford

http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Chemistry/MOTM/motm.htm
More molecules of the month, from Bristol, UK

http://www.bio.cmu.edu/Courses/BiochemMols/SelExMain.htm
Molecular images of proteins from Carnegie Mellon University

http://www.bio.cmu.edu/Courses/BiochemMols/BCMolecules.html
Molecular models for biochemistry. Provides link to above website, also lists other molecular models if you scroll down to Structures for Molecular Biology; other topics and links that may be useful as well.

http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/
PDB: Protein Data Bank, "the single worldwide repository for the processing and distribution of 3D biological macromolecular structure data"; also click on STRUCTURAL GENOMICS in the menu above the archive search for many useful links which can be used in other parts of your task; also look at the side menu bar for other links such as the National Institute of Health.

http://www.csc.fi/lul/chem/graphics.html
Chemist's Art Gallery: contains models, visualizations and animations in chemistry; lots to look through!

http://www.unl.edu/stc-95/ResTools/cmshp.html
CMS Molecular Biology Resource: resources in biochemistry, biomolecular modeling, etc.

http://kidscience.about.com/kids/kidscience/
The Kidscience section of About.com provides basic information on DNA, genes, and how they help the body work. When you get to this website click on Life Science, then to Anatomy and Biology to learn more.

http://gslc.genetics.utah.edu/students.html
Genetic Science Learning Center: Students' and Teen's menu; or link to the home page for more in depth information.

http://www.kapili.com/c/chemistry.html
Rader's kapili.com: Biochemistry link with links to other topics, such as protein structure

http://www.eyesoftime.com/teacher/biology.htm
The School Page: The Ultimate Biology Page, has all sorts of information regarding many parts of the task; you can even ask a professor a question!

http://www.biology.arizona.edu/default.html
The Biology Project, developed at The University of Arizonaan online interactive resource for learning biology; information for many tasks, including genetic engineering

http://www.nhgri.nih.gov/
National Human Genome Research Institute: National Institutes of Health

http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis
Office of Biological and Environmental Research: US Department of Energy

http://www.hhmi.org
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

http://genomics.phrma.org
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America

http://www.nature.com/genomics
Website for Nature Magazine, the International Weekly Journal of Science

http://www.scienceonline.org
Website for Science Magazine, Global Weekly of Research

http://www.faseb.org/genetics/ashg/ashgmenu.htm
American Society of Human Genetics

http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook
University of Wisconsin Writing Center: Click on Documentation Styles and then on Modern Language Association (MLA) for proper works cited format (hardcopy and Internet resources need to be properly cited!!)

http://www.discover.com/
Discover magazine online

http://www.ScienceNews.com
ScienceNews.com: News of Health, Science, and the Environment

Use Search Engines (Yahoo, Google, AskJeeves) for more information

Refer to EBSCO and SIRS in the Media Center for articles from periodicals

Refer to your textbook for basic information

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You and your partner will receive a group test grade that correlates to the degree in which you complete your task.You will be evaluated on the quality of your research, reasoning and presentation. You need to answer as many of the questions posed as possible, with as much detail as possible. The rubric below details the point value for each section.

 

Criteria	Possible Points	Your Points
Written Report: each step in process incorporated into report; typed and expressed at appropriate age level Molecular Structure (extra credit for molecular formula): visual; in color; active sites/integral sites highlighted or labeled (5 pts) Investigation of Molecule: all questions answered from step 6 (18 pts) Molecule as Related to Other Organisms (10 pts) Amino Acid Sequence/DNA sequence: you may use the standard three letter abbreviations for amino acids; use letters A,T,C,G to represent nucleotides in DNA sequence (16 pts) Genetic Engineering Plan: use and understand terms associated with genetic engineering; provide detailed plan for production of molecule; list materials needed (21 pts) Explanation of Statement, "DNA is the code for life" (10 pts)	70
Works Cited in Written Report Using MLA Format	10
Presentation: well planned; coherent; presented at level of students; visual aids are accurate, relevant, and visible to audience	10

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By the time you have completed this task, you and your partner should finally be able to explain why we emphasize the importance of DNA and the molecules it codes for. You should leave this activity as informed individuals who can make the connection between your genes and your body's processes.