Download Lab report structure

Lab report structure
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
Title
Abstract
Introduction
Methods and Materials
Results
Discussion
References
Figures
Abstract
One or two paragraphs summarizing everything
– what question you were investigating
– brief summary of results and conclusions
Introduction
• Background information - what is already
known in this field of research
ex: floral structure; important genes and
mutant phenotypes
• What question you were investigating
Methods and Materials
• Description of what you did in paragraph form;
each section should have a title
• Include information such as the PCR primer
sequence and the name of the miniprep kit you
used
Example
The genomic region of FUL, extending 2700 bases
5’of the translation initiation codon, was PCR
amplified using wild-type Arabidopsis DNA as
template. This fragment was cloned into the pEL112
plant transformation vector and transformed into wildtype Arabidopsis by published procedures (reference).
Kanamycin-resistant transgenic plants were selected
and analyzed.
Results
• Your results, but without much analysis of
what they mean
Results text
In order to determine if the mutations in unknowns A and B
are in the AP3 gene, we crossed pollen from each unknown mutant
onto ap3 mutant flowers. As shown in Table 1, we found that…
Figure and Legend
Figure 1. Characterization of Flowers from the Different Genotypes Used in This
Study.
(A) to (E) Scanning electron micrographs of mature flowers of each genotype treated
with dexamethasone. Genotypes are as follows: wild type (A), pi-1 (B), ap3-3 (C),
D6::DTA (D), and ap3-3; ag-3; 35S::PI; 35S::AP3-GR (abbreviated as AP3-GR) treated
with dexamethosone (E).(F) RNA gel blot analysis of AP3 (top gels) and PI (bottom
gels) expression in the different genetic backgrounds: wild type (lane a), pi-1 (lane b),
ap3-3 (lane c), AP3-GR (lane d), and D6::DTA (lane e). Lanes contained 20 µg of total
RNA extracted from flowers. The AP3 higher molecular mass band in lane d
corresponds to the transcript of the transgene encoding the AP3-GR fusion protein.
The lower molecular mass band corresponds to the transcript of the endogenous
mutant ap3 gene, whose expression also was regulated positively by AP3-GR.
Hybridization to 18S rRNA shows the RNA loading in each lane.
Discussion
• Summarize your results and discuss what they
mean
Arabidopsis nomenclature
Genus species:
Arabidopsis thaliana
wild type gene:
APETALA3 (AP3)
mutant gene:
apetela3 (ap3)
wild type protein:
APETALA3 (AP3)
mutant alleles:
ap3-1, ap3-2, ap3-3
Scientific style
• Formal writing style; not written as a lab report
• Our collaborators instead of other groups.
In your own words…
• For example, in your introduction, don’t simply
copy word for word what is written in the
handout or what is written in a manuscript. Put it
in your own words and provide a reference at the
end to indicate where you got the information.