Location and Hours

Insulin Bioinformatics

insulin bioinformatics materials

Teaching Points View as PDF document

This kit allows students to review the relationship between DNA sequence, RNA sequence and protein sequence as they explore the insulin gene in a guided-inquiry exercise. In this exercise, students can:

  • Locate the coding sequence of preproinsulin in genomic DNA, discovering two introns, one of which occurs prior to the translated sequence. Students can identify the common code that flanks introns, marking them for splicing
  • Explore the arrangement of the pre-signal (for docking the ribosome onto the endoplasmic reticulum), the B chain, the C peptide (which is later removed) and A chain. Students can also identify the cysteine sidechains that form the disulfide bonds that stabilize the final, mature structure.
  • Finally, because the ultimate annotation of a nucleotide sequence is a physical model of the protein it encodes, students use a protein folding map and Mini-Toobers to build a three-dimensional model of insulin, demonstrating disulfide bonds, a salt bridge, internal hydrophobic residues, as well as a number of sidechains that, when mutated, lead to proteins that don't function properly.

Models in this Collection

  • 6 insulin models
  • 6 insulin posters
  • 6 Student Insulin mRNA Maps
  • 1 Teacher Insulin mRNA Map
  • 6 Insulin Mini-Toober Folding Maps
  • 6 Insulin Mini-Toober Folding Kits
  • 1 bag of spare parts
  • 6 Insulin mRNA to Protein Kit Student Handouts
  • 1 Insulin mRNA to Protein Kit Teacher Key
  • Folder with Educator Resources
  • 1 Insulin mRNA to Protein Kit CD (contains colored and black and white copies of all activities)

Model Details

  • 6 insulin models
    • α-carbon backbone
      • backbone of A chain colored purple
      • backbone of B chain colored orange
    • Cysteine sidechains involved in disulfide bonds displayed in ball and stick and colored in CPK (A chain: cys6, cys7, cys11, cys20; B chain: cys7, cys19)
    • Based on PDB file 2HIU
    • Model made of plaster on the Z-Corp machine
  • 6 insulin posters
    • Poster depicts the structure of insulin (color-coded in the same fashion as the physical model) as well as multiple applications in which the insulin gene/protein can be introduced
  • 6 Student Insulin mRNA Maps
    • Human insulin map showing processed insulin mRNA and protein sequences in each of the three forward reading frames
  • 1 Teacher Insulin mRNA Map
    • Human insulin map showing processed insulin mRNA and protein sequences in each of the three forward reading frames
    • Includes annotationof gene, including splice sites, Kozak consensus sequences, translation start and stop sites, presignal, B chain, C peptide, A chain, protease cleavage sites and disulfide bonds
  • 6 Insulin Mini-Toober Folding Maps
    • Mini-Toober folding map, indicating location of α-helices and β-sheets, cysteine sidechains involved in disulfide bonds
  • 6 Insulin Mini-Toober Folding Kits
    • Purple Mini-Toober
    • Orange Mini-Toober
    • 6 metal clips
    • 2 blue endcaps
    • 2 red endcaps
    • 6 plastic cysteine sidechains with magnets
    • 3 medium support posts
    • 6 red helix markers
    • 4 yellow sheet markers
    • Strip of white dots
  • 1 bag of spare parts
  • 6 Insulin mRNA to Protein Kit Student Handouts
    • This guided inquiry exercise walks students through an exploration of how the genetic code is translated into a protein sequence, the function of insulin, and processing to remove the signal peptide and the C peptide to make functional insulin. The activity concludes with having students create a three-dimensional insulin model from Mini-Toobers using the folding map provided.
  • 1 Insulin mRNA to Protein Kit Teacher Key
    • Similar to the Student Handouts, the Teacher Key includes an answer key.
  • Folder with Educator Resources
  • 1 Insulin mRNA to Protein Kit CD (contains colored and black and white copies of all activities)

Documentation included

  • Teaching points and inventory
  • How do the models fit back in the suitcase?
  • Printed Material (also available in color and black and white on the accompanying CD; may be duplicated for classroom use)
    • Notes to Educators
    • Exploring Further: Amino Acid Properties Activity
      • Uncolored Amino Acid Sidechain List
      • Color Coded Amino Acid Sidechain List
    • Exploring Further: Function of the C-Peptide Activity
    • The Standard Genetic Code — uncolored
    • mRNA Coding/Decoding Worksheet — Student Handout
    • mRNA Coding/Decoding Worksheet — Teacher Key
    • Exploring Further: Determining a Consensus Sequence Activity
    • Exploring Further: Determining a Consensus Sequence Activity Key