Barriers to integration of bioinformatics into undergraduate life sciences education: A national study of US life sciences faculty uncover significant barriers to integrating bioinformatics into undergraduate instruction

Bioinformatics, a discipline that combines aspects of biology, statistics, mathematics, and computer science, is becoming increasingly important for biological research. However, bioinformatics instruction is not yet generally integrated into undergraduate life sciences curricula. To understand why we studied how bioinformatics is being included in biology education in the US by conducting a nationwide survey of faculty at two- and four-year institutions. The survey asked several open-ended questions that probed barriers to integration, the answers to which were analyzed using a mixed-methods approach. The barrier most frequently reported by the 1,260 respondents was lack of faculty expertise/training, but other deterrents-lack of student interest, overly-full curricula, and lack of student preparation-were also common. Interestingly, the barriers faculty face depended strongly on whether they are members of an underrepresented group and on the Carnegie Classification of their home institution. We were surprised to discover that the cohort of faculty who were awarded their terminal degree most recently reported the most preparation in bioinformatics but teach it at the lowest rate

The Cryo-EM Structure of a Complete 30S Translation Initiation Complex from Escherichia coli

Formation of the 30S initiation complex (30S IC) is an important checkpoint in regulation of gene expression. The selection of mRNA, correct start codon, and the initiator fMet-tRNAfMet requires the presence of three initiation factors (IF1, IF2, IF3) of which IF3 and IF1 control the fidelity of the process, while IF2 recruits fMet-tRNAfMet. Here we present a cryo-EM reconstruction of the complete 30S IC, containing mRNA, fMet-tRNAfMet, IF1, IF2, and IF3. In the 30S IC, IF2 contacts IF1, the 30S subunit shoulder, and the CCA end of fMet-tRNAfMet, which occupies a novel P/I position (P/I1). The N-terminal domain of IF3 contacts the tRNA, whereas the C-terminal domain is bound to the platform of the 30S subunit. Binding of initiation factors and fMet-tRNAfMet induces a rotation of the head relative to the body of the 30S subunit, which is likely to prevail through 50S subunit joining until GTP hydrolysis and dissociation of IF2 take place. The structure provides insights into the mechanism of mRNA selection during translation initiation

Single-base mutations at position 2661 of Escherichia coli 23S rRNA increase efficiency of translational proofreading.

Two single-base substitutions were constructed in the 2660 loop of Escherichia coli 23S rRNA (G2661-->C or U) and were introduced into the rrnB operon cloned in plasmid pKK3535. Ribosomes were isolated from bacteria transformed with the mutated plasmids and assayed in vitro in a poly(U)-directed system for their response to the misreading effect of streptomycin, neomycin, and gentamicin, three aminoglycoside antibiotics known to impair the proofreading control of translational accuracy. Both mutations decreased the stimulation of misreading by these drugs, but neither interfered with their binding to the ribosome. The response of the mutant ribosomes to these drugs suggests that the 2660 loop, which belongs to the elongation factor Tu binding site, is involved in the proofreading step of the accuracy control. In vivo, both mutations reduced read-through of nonsense codons and frameshifting, which can also be related to the increased efficiency in proofreading control which they confer to ribosomes