Publishing student-led discoveries in genetics.

Abstract

In a Mutant Screen Report in this issue, we (Heller et al. ) report the findings of a genome-wide screen to identify novel mycobacteriophage gene products capable of inhibiting mycobacterial growth. Overexpression of the 94 genes encoded by phage Waterfoul in the host bacterium Mycobacterium smegmatis revealed 32 gene products capable of hindering mycobacterial growth to varying degrees; half of these gene products harbor no recognizable domains or homol-ogy to gene products of known function, offering many novel growth inhibitors for future characterization. This is the first report from the HHMI Science Education Alliance-Gene-function Exploration by a Network of Emerging Scientists (SEA-GENES) project, a new project that engages undergraduate scientists and their faculty instructors in an exploration of bacteriophage genetics within the context of undergraduate science courses. of