The Mycological Curriculum for Education and Discovery

Bringing Fungal Genomics Into the Classroom

The Mycological Curriculum for Education and Discovery (Myco-Ed) is a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) that consists of coordinated hands-on experiments across fungal biology teaching labs with the goals of

1. Training students and professors in laboratory techniques and data analyses
2. Compiling original data for improving fungal genomic resources
3. Empowering students through isolation and genome sequencing of new fungal species

Beyond providing a scalable solution for production of high-quality fungal reference genomes, this program is an important initiative that expands and diversifies workforce training in fungal biology and genomics.

Myco-Ed aims to integrate real scientific contributions/discoveries into undergraduate teaching laboratories with minimal overhead (cost of media, ITS sequencing and tissue preparation), allowing participation from a wide audience. For consistency and to reduce teaching-lab costs, we have partnered with the Arizona Genomics Institute where high molecular weight DNA is extracted from samples, which is then sent to the JGI for genome sequencing, assembly and annotation.

Myco-Ed is a modular program, where students:

All MycoEd protocols, course materials and bioinformatics exercises are freely available through the links below.

Links

• iNaturalist Myco Ed Fungal Genomics Education Project
• MycoCosm MycoEd group page
• Protocols, teaching materials, and bioinformatics exercises

Want to get involved in Myco-Ed? Contact Stephen Mondo to sign up