Week B manual#

Overview of Week B#

week B schedule

Goals of Week B#

This week you will

  1. Learn the theory of nanopore sequencing and library construction

  2. Prepare your DNA extraction for sequencing and create a sequencing library

  3. Prepare and load the nanopore

  4. Generate DNA data suitable to reconstruct a bacterial genome

Assessed Portfolio Activities#

Lab Notebook#

This week you will continue to complete your lab notebook.This is an essential part of any scientific research, and without a detailed experimental record it is poor quality and irreproducible science. Ask staff for feedback on your lab book, and discuss among yourselves the best way to keep a useful record.

Competencies#

This week you will have two competencies to document. These are described in more detail during the introductory session on Monday.

  1. Correct calculation of DNA quantities for the sequencing library

  2. Brief (“News and Views”) summary of a set paper, it’s science and context

Learning and Study#

We will teach seminars/discussion groups on Nanopore DNA sequencing and also on sequencing library construction. You will have to read around this topic.

Dr Graham Sellers will give a seminar describing some of his research using nanopore DNA sequencing. We will follow with a discussion of the different ways and different research areas this sequencing technology can be applied. This ought to feed in very helpfully to your second competency (to be described in more detail on Monday) where you will explain the application and significance of applying nanopore sequencing in different areas by reviewing a paper.

Lab Work#

We will discuss on Monday the best way to arrange this week’s work. Monday will be a theory day, explaining and teaching the essential background information, with no lab work.

One way to do this is to divide the students in two groups:

Each group would have a heavy lab day preparing a sequencing library, followed by a lighter lab day, preparing and loading the nanopore.

So group B would work Tues and Weds, Group C would work Thurs and Fri.

The time you are not in the lab would be spent reading the background material and preparing the paper review competency. We will be available to support you with this, answer questions, but it is of course your own work.