Sarah DeWolf, of the Boury lab in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, recently published a first-author publication in the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education titled, "Changing colors and understanding: the use of mutant chromogenic protein and informational suppressor strains of Escherichia coli to explore the central dogma of molecular biology".

"The resulting changes in phenotype without a change in CP gene genotype challenge students’ understanding of information flow in living systems as they make predictions as to the results of their transformation experiment. The resolution of this cognitive dissonance requires a deeper understanding of transcription and translation, which helps students clarify their thinking about the central dogma to address misconceptions they still might have in their senior year.” 

- Read the full article here

DeWolf, Sarah, Maartje Van den Bogaard, Rachael Brady Hart, Sparrow Hartman, Nancy Boury, and Gregory J. Phillips. “Changing Colors and Understanding: The Use of Mutant Chromogenic Protein and Informational Suppressor Strains of Escherichia Coli to Explore the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology.” Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education e00094-23