AbstractBackgroundOne of the most challenging topics for students in Evolution courses is that of non-adaptive evolution, particularly genetic drift. Novel teaching techniques and software have been implemented to facilitate student understanding of this and other evolution related topics; nonetheless, some of them still present certain disadvantages. Here we introduce Genie, a web-based application designed to demonstrate population genetics and evolutionary concepts.ResultsWe used Genie as a tool to teach 203 students taking Arizona State University’s Evolution course. Students freely used Genie during recitation session after having learned about genetic drift and other mechanism of non-adaptive evolution during lectures. Student performance and comprehension of genetic drift, and other evolutionary concepts, was tested with the Genetic Drift Inventory before and after using Genie. We found that Genie was an efficient tool for teaching genetic drift, mutation, the effects of barrier formation, and gene flow, across a variety of student demographics. Specifically, we found that with our implementation of Genie, students had significantly improved understanding of concepts such as: changes in alleles frequencies due to genetic drift and the difference between adaptive and non-adaptive evolutionary mechanisms.ConclusionsWe believe that the easy usage, creativity, and real-time nature of Genie makes it an accessible tool for both teachers and students learning non-adaptive evolution, as well as a means for student development of creative and critical thinking. Genie is freely available (https://cartwrig.ht/apps/genie/) and can be easily accessed across different operating systems.
Adaptive Evolution under Extreme Genetic Drift in Oxidatively Stressed Caenorhabditis elegans