7.002 | Spring 2025 | Undergraduate

Fundamentals of Experimental Molecular Biology

Course Description

7.002 is a laboratory course that teaches fundamental skills for performing biological research. Through experiments with an E. coli bacterial ATPase called ClpX, you will learn essential molecular biology techniques commonly used in modern research labs. These techniques include site-directed mutagenesis, DNA …
7.002 is a laboratory course that teaches fundamental skills for performing biological research. Through experiments with an E. coli bacterial ATPase called ClpX, you will learn essential molecular biology techniques commonly used in modern research labs. These techniques include site-directed mutagenesis, DNA isolation, molecular cloning, bacteria transformations, recombinant protein expression and purification, gel electrophoresis, and western blotting. Learning these techniques will give you a taste of life in a molecular biochemistry lab and prepare you for future research work. Our focus is on helping you integrate factual knowledge with an understanding of experimental design and data analysis.
Learning Resource Types
Activity Assignments
Laboratory Assignments
Written Assignments
a multi-colored ribbon drawing of the six different subunits in ClpX that form a hexamer ring with an open pore at the center.
Crystal structure of the ATP-powered protein unfolding machine called ClpX. Image from the RCSB PDB (RCSB.org) of PDB ID 4I63 (Glynn, S.E., Nager, A.R., et al. “Nucleotide Binding and Conformational Switching in the Hexameric Ring of a AAA+ Machine.” Cell 153, no. 3(2013): 628-39.)