Your research group has recently determined the complete genomic sequence of the organism Examus biologisium. You instruct your group to begin sequence annotation, which involves

Question

A.  shotgun cloning.
B.  the alignment of contigs.
C.  the identification of open reading frames.
D.  the construction of a genetic map.

Clarify Question
· What is the key concept addressed by the question?
· What type of thinking is required?
· What key words does the question contain and what do they mean?

  Gather Content
· What do you already know about genome analysis?

  Consider Possibilities
· Consider the different answer options. Which can you rule out?

  Choose Answer
· Given what you now know, what information and/or problem solving approach is most likely to produce the correct answer?

  Reflect on Process
· Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?

Answer 1

C.  the identification of open reading frames.

Clarify Question
· What is the key concept addressed by the question?
            o This question addresses genome analysis.
· What type of thinking is required?
        o This question is asking you to take what you already know and apply it to this unfamiliar situation.
· What key words does the question contain and what do they mean?
        o Sequence annotation refers to making notes in the genome database about the locations and details of genes.

  Gather Content
· What do you already know about genome analysis?
        o Sequencing a genome is not enough to be useful.
        o To make sense of the sequence of nucleotides, we have to figure out where the genes lie.

  Consider Possibilities
· Consider the different answer options. Which can you rule out?
        o Would the next step be shotgun cloning? No, that would be part of the sequencing effort.
        o Would the next step be the alignment of contigs? No, that would be part of the sequencing effort.
        o Would the next step be the construction of a genetic map? No, that would not directly annotate the genome sequence unless the genes were aligned to molecular markers.

  Choose Answer
· Given what you now know, what information and/or problem solving approach is most likely to produce the correct answer?
        o Would the next step be the identification of open reading frames? Yes, this would show where the likely genes are. This is an important part of sequence annotation.

  Reflect on Process
· Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
        o This question asked you to describe what would occur as part of sequence annotation for a genome.
        o The question required you to take what you already know and apply it to this unfamiliar situation.
        o Did you recognize that finding open reading frames – i.e., the locations of genes – is an important part of sequence annotation?