Educational Resources for the Classroom
These animations, by MScBMC graduate students Felix Son, Colleen Paris, and Ariadna Villalbi are a collaboration between the University of Toronto (Jenkinson), UC Davis (Keen), and Harvard Medical School (McGill). They were created for use in undergraduate biology classrooms. We will continue to add to this collection as resources are created.
Visualizing Different Models for Protein Binding and Interactions
This animation, created by Ariadna Villalbi, includes a series of visualizations that help biology students to understand the difference between the following 'mental models' for how conformation and conformational change drives binding:
Lock-and-key (i.e. the simplest analogy used which just gets students to think about shape complementarity)
'Induced-fit' (i.e. the interaction itself 'pushes' the bindee into a conformation that is more energetically favorable and stable)
Molecular breathing, conformational landscapes, and capturing 'permissive' binding conformations
The Role of Actin in Cell Motility
This animation by Felix Son attempts to bridge the knowledge gap in undergraduate cell biology students’ understanding of key biological concepts. It explores cell motility by examining the characteristics of the actin cytoskeleton that contribute to cell protrusion, adhesion, and elongation. We also examine mechanisms of the actin cytoskeleton (nucleation, elongation, and steady state) that regulate the dynamics of actin architecture.
The Pathogenic Manipulation of Actin
This animation by Colleen Paris, extends the work of Felix Son by examining the actin cytoskeleton from the perspective of pathogenic invasion. Here we look at Chlamydia, Rickettsia, and Lysteria as 3 examples of pathogens that leverage the structure of actin in order to gain access to the cell, or for motility once inside the cell.