Book Title: Molecular Techniques

Book Description

Molecular biology, examining the structures and functions of nucleic acids and proteins, is crucial to advancing biological science and improving human life, particularly in agriculture and medicine. Advances in the field can transform a crop to resist disease or uncover clues to fight illness by manipulating DNA. Techniques for molecular biology research and applications have advanced rapidly over the past decades, and undergraduates need hands-on experiences in this vital field of science. This text provides a structured approach to learning and practicing those techniques, covering DNA, RNA, and protein across five modules and is tailored for a one-semester undergraduate lab course. Each module extends 2–5 weeks of lab exercises and features:

1. An aim and overview introducing the project’s topic, principles, and concepts.
2. A flowchart summarizing weekly lab exercises with estimated time frames.
3. A list of required equipment and materials to help instructors prepare.

Each lab exercise begins with an objective(s), an introduction to the techniques used, and detailed procedures for the corresponding experiment; data analysis and discussion at the end enhance students’ comprehension of the content. Students will become familiar with techniques widely used in molecular biology research, such as degenerate PCR cloning, Southern blot, probe labeling, bacterial recombineering with and without CRISPR-Cas9, RT-qPCR, SDS-PAGE, and Western blot. Most lab exercises were adopted from published research projects to ensure the feasibility and success of the experiments conducted by inexperienced undergraduates. All modules have been taught to biochemistry and biology 3^rd– and 4^th-year students at SUNY Geneseo in multiple sections of the Molecular Techniques Lab over several years. Most lab exercises, along with student results, were published previously in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education.