Download Laboratory Report Guidelines and Rubric

S14-Final Laboratory Report Instructions
Note to the instructor: There are numerous formats for writing laboratory reports and the instructor
should review the following guidelines and modify them to suit their needs. Even if the instructor chooses
to give the students the guidelines below as written, the instructor will need to provide students with
guidelines for how to format the references.
Introduction
For the last five weeks, you have collected a variety of data related to the ASYMMETRIC LEAVES1 (AS1)
and ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2 (AS2) genes in Arabidopsis. These data needs to be assembled into a
report. The final version of the report should resemble a primary scientific literature article. As examples,
review Semiarti et al. 2001 (1) and Byrne et al. 2002 (2). Your report should clearly explain how the
specific mutations you identified in the AS1 and AS2 genes cause changes in protein structure that lead to
the as1 and as2 mutant phenotypes. Below are the sections required for the report and instructions for
how they should be written.
Title
Titles are a short phrase that clearly tells the reader what to expect from the report. A title such as “AS1
and AS2 of Arabidopsis” is too vague. The title needs to provide some indication about what you
discovered about AS1 and AS2. The author’s name should also be clearly listed.
Abstract
Write this last! An abstract is a summary of the entire paper. The abstract should have the following brief
statements: short summary of the function of AS1 and AS2, the scientific reason for why the experiments
were done, an overview of the general methods used, and the main outcome. Although abstracts are short,
they are probably the hardest of all sections to write.
Introduction
The introduction needs to include the following background information: Arabidopsis as a model genetic
system, basic leaf development, the AS1 gene and the AS2 gene, central dogma, and levels of protein
structure. When writing an introduction, the author starts by explaining the broadest topics first and ends
with the most specific topics. The statements in the introduction must be supported by at least 5 primary
literature articles. By definition, primary literature contains data that the authors collected themselves.
The primary literature articles must be properly cited, meaning that the main point of the primary
literature article is used to support a statement in your laboratory report and the citation itself is properly
formatted (see below).
Materials and Methods
This section is not written as a laboratory protocol. Instead the important points of the protocol are written
in complete sentences that accurately state how the experiment was carried out (incubation temperatures,
DNA isolation buffer used, sequence of PCR primers, etc.). Look at the AS2 paper (1) as a guide for what
the materials and methods section should look like.
Results
This section presents and describes the data. This section contains figures with figure legends and also a
narrative that explains the data to the reader. This section does NOT contain an analysis of the data; just
present the data in this section. You need to transition the reader into this section. The first paragraph
should be briefly state the goals of the overall work and an overview of how the data was collected.
Here are the data that need to be included in the results section:
1) High-quality pictures of the as1, as2 and wild type Arabidopsis plants that clearly show the leaf
phenotypes.
2) Leaf petiole length graphs with appropriate statistics.
3) Sequence alignments of the AS1 and AS2 PCR products amplified using DNA isolated from wild type,
as1 and as2 plants. The mutation needs to be clearly labeled.
4) Protein sequence alignment comparing wild type and mutant AS1 and, separately, a protein alignment
of wild type and mutant AS2.
5) A figure that clearly shows the protein structure of the mutant AS1, normal (wild type) AS1 and the
superimposed normal and mutant AS1 proteins.
6) A figure that clearly shows the protein structure of the mutant AS2, normal (wild type) AS2 and the
superimposed wild type and mutant AS2 proteins.
All figures must have figure legends and should be described in the narrative of the results section.
Discussion
Discuss what the results mean. The main goal of this section is to analyze the data while clearly
articulating how mutations in the AS1 and AS2 genes cause changes in protein structure and how these
mutations lead to the as1 and as2 mutant phenotypes. You should also discuss the implications or
significance of these results (although don’t merely repeat the introduction) and how you might expand or
clarify the results based on the limitations of computational modeling.
References
You need at least five primary literature article properly cited for each report. Properly cited means that
the main point of the primary literature article supports what is being cited in the lab report. In addition,
the citations must be properly formatted. The instructor will provide guidelines that detail what specific
format will be used for citing references.
Works cited
1.
Semiarti E, Ueno Y, Tsukaya H, Iwakawa H, Machida C, Machida Y. 2001. The
ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2 gene of Arabidopsis thaliana regulates formation of a symmetric
lamina, establishment of venation and repression of meristem-related homeobox genes in leaves.
Development 128:1771–1783.
2.
Byrne ME, Simorowski J, Martienssen R a. 2002. ASYMMETRIC LEAVES1 reveals knox
gene redundancy in Arabidopsis. Development 129:1957–1965.
Rubric for grading the lab report-points will be assigned according to the guidelines above.
Section
Title and name
Points possible and explanation
1 pt total
0.5 pts-Title is descriptive.
0.5 pts-Author’s name clearly stated.
Abstract
6 pts total
2 pts-A short summary of the
function of AS1 and AS2.
1 pt-An overview of why the
experiments were done.
1 pt-A succinct overview of the
methods.
2 pts-Main finding is clearly stated.
Introduction
6 pts total
1 pt-Arabidopsis and its use as a
model system.
Points received
1 pt- Basic description of leaf
development.
1 pt-Clear description of the central
dogma and protein structure.
2 pts-Clear background information
describing the AS1 and AS2 gene.
1 pt-The introduction is well
organized.
Materials and
Methods
5 pts. total
3 pts-DNA isolation, PCR,
bioinformatics and molecular
modeling are included in the
materials and methods.
Results
2 pts-The descriptions of the
materials and methods are clear,
succinct and accurate.
18 pts total
3 pts-The first paragraph provides the
reader context for why and gives an
overview of how the experiments
were carried out.
1 pt-Nice pictures of the as1, as2 and
wild type Arabidopsis plants.
1 pt-Leaf petiole length graphs with
appropriate statistics.
1 pt-Sequence alignments of wild
type DNA sequence compared to the
mutant sequence of AS1 and AS2
genes. The mutation needs to be
clearly labeled.
1 pt-Protein sequence alignment
comparing wild type and mutant AS1
and, separately, a comparison of wild
type and mutant AS2.
1 pt-A figure that clearly shows the
protein structure of the mutant AS1,
wild type AS1 and the superimposed
wild type and mutant.
1 pt-A figure that clearly shows the
protein structure of the mutant AS2,
wild type AS2 and the superimposed
wild type and mutant.
3 pts-All 6 figures must have
descriptive figure legends.
Discussion
6 pts-All 6 figures are clearly
described in the narrative of the
results section.
6 pts total
2 pts-There is a clear description of
how mutations in the DNA change
the structure/function of a protein
which results in the mutant
phenotype.
2 pts-The data is referred to and is
used to support the relationship
between DNA, protein
structure/function and phenotype.
References
2 pts-The significance of the work is
presented and there are suggestions
for how the work could be expanded
or clarified.
4 pts total
1 pts-At least five primary literature
papers are cited.
2 pts-The in text and reference page
citations are properly formatted.
1 pts-The main point of each primary
literature article is referred to in the
narrative.
Grammar and format
Plagiarism
Total points 45
You will not receive points for this,
but you could lose points for this.
You will be reported to the Dean of
Students and potentially receive a 0
on the lab report. .