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 Michelle Withers (Facilitator) Melissa Zwick

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!?!

Which one of the structures below would make up butter? 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 Add picture of butter and oil Triglycerides A B

Which one of these is saturated? B

Omega-3 – Polyunsaturated fat

Barrier between inside and outside of cell 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 at a much later time point? 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. Shortest time Intermediate time 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?