Harnessing the Topics of Cytochrome P450 Enzymology and Artemisinin to Teach a Semester-Long Biochemistry Laboratory Course

Eleven different laboratory experiments were designedand executedthroughout a semester to provide a meaningful research experiencefor 23 undergraduate biochemistry majors at UTSA. The topic of thesemester was based on the idea of exploring new aspects to enhanceour understanding of how the human body uses cytochrome P450 enzymesto metabolize artemisinin, an endoperoxide-containing plant naturalproduct used to treat malaria. Biochemical techniques introduced tothe students included computational (dry lab) techniques: the useof bioinformatics tools to design plasmids for protein expression,software to analyze the 3-dimensional structure of proteins, metabolomicssoftware to analyze enzyme-catalyzed reaction extracts by mass spectrometry,and docking software to dock ligands into the active site of proteins.In addition, students performed experimental (wet lab) techniquesincluding: a transformation experiment to incorporate plasmid DNAinto bacteria, an extraction of plasmid DNA from bacterial cells,performing enzymatic incubations and preparing samples for analysisby mass spectrometry, and running an SDS protein gel electrophoresis.The semester ended with the use of a web-based program to allow studentsto visualize the proteins they were studying throughout the semesterwith a virtual reality headset. This course was taught for the firsttime at the university, so this manuscript should inspire ideas forfuture biochemistry laboratory courses taught in the course basedundergraduate research experiences (CUREs) format.

Automated summary

This study describes a semester-long biochemistry laboratory course that provided undergraduate students with meaningful research experiences. The course focused on exploring the use of cytochrome P450 enzymes in metabolizing artemisinin. Students were introduced to both computational and experimental techniques, and the semester culminated with the use of a web-based program and virtual reality headset. The course serves as a valuable model for future biochemistry laboratory courses taught in the course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) format.