West Virginia UniversitySummer Institute

2012

Group 1General Biology & Microbiology

Group 1: General Biology & Microbiology

Andrea Beyer Virginia Commonwealth UniversitySamantha Jusino West Virginia UniversityMichael Lague The Richard Stockton College of NJDeLacy Rhodes Virginia Commonwealth UniversityMichelle Withers (Facilitator) West Virginia UniversityMelissa 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?

A B

Glycerol

Fatty acid

Triglycerides

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.

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 time2.Intermediate time3.Longest time

C.

fusion dispersal

Cold-adapted Marine Fish

Warm-adapted Marine Fish

Cold-adapted Freshwater Fish

Warm-adapted Freshwater Fish

Dey et al. 1993. PNAS

A Fishy DilemmaYou 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.

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?