Design and exploration of genetic comprehensive experiments based on Ds insertion mutants

The cultivation of innovative abilities has become an important guide for higher education in China. Strengthening the integrated knowledge to design experiments is an effective way to improve undergraduate students' innovative abilities. Herein we designed a comprehensive experiment for molecular genetics by utilizing a rice Ds insertion mutant identified previously in our research project. In the comprehensive experiment, we adopt the method of scientific research as the main line of teaching and take the interesting phenotype of the rice mutant as the breakthrough point to reform and innovate genetics laboratory teaching. On the basis of this, we combined the progressive teaching method and guided the students to learn the TAIL-PCR skill and conduct an innovative experiment through expanding their knowledge. The comprehensive experiment will deepen students' understandings of the relationship between genotypes and phenotypes, help them master the effective way of thinking and technologies for scientific research to further improve their ability of the integrated application capability of theory and practices.