Studies suggests that the molecular details of the Central Dogma are not properly learned, and students exhibit a superficial understanding of the genotype to phenotype (GP) link. Thus, we developed a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) that uses environmental bacteria as a means to directly identify and learn GP links. Here, we demonstrate the CURE, which includes transposon mutagenesis along with arbitrary PCR and bioinformatics, to connect GP traits. The CURE has been implemented in the Tiny Earth curriculum and tested in other science lab courses with success thus demonstrating its ease of adaptability at other institutions.
