Simulating phase variation: a practical approach to teaching mutation and diversity^*

* This article describes an online, interactive simulator of mutation and phase variation and describes the use of this resource in undergraduate and A Level teaching.

Abstract

Mutation, diversity, natural selection and the biology of human pathogens (including antibiotic resistance) are key features of the biosciences curriculum at A Level and undergraduate study. Few resources exist to allow students to engage with these topics in an interactive manner. This paper describes an interactive, online simulation of mutation and of phase variation, a mechanism employed by many bacteria to generate genetic diversity, and includes an example of how the simulation can allow students to draw links between the genetics of pathogens and disease. Students experiment with different parameters of the simulation and use this–along with peer debate–to answer a set of questions. Use of the simulation goes some way to expel the fallacy that mutations are generated in response to environmental change. This freely available resource can be easily adapted to a wide range of audiences and topics where mutation is the underlying principle (cancer genetics for example).

Keywords:

• Teaching
• genetics
• mutation
• phase variation
• simulation

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Geetha Narayanan and Maarten Tas of Beauchamp College for helping to trial the resource and for their useful comments. The authors would also like to thank Lotus De La Cort for her help in collecting and collating feedback and also for her useful discussions. We would like to acknowledge the UOL Gateway scheme/BBSRC for funding JW and the BBSRC MIBTP studentship scheme for funding JA.

Notes

* This article describes an online, interactive simulator of mutation and phase variation and describes the use of this resource in undergraduate and A Level teaching.