Physical distancing and inaccessibility to laboratory facilities created an opportunity to transition undergraduate research experiences to remote, digital platforms, adding another level of pedagogy to their training. Basic bioinformatics skills together with critical analysis of scientific literature are essential for addressing research questions in modern biology. The work presented here describes a fully online, collaborative research experience created to allow undergraduate students to learn those skills. The research experience was focused on the development and implementation of the Organonitrogen Biodegradation Database (ONDB, z.umn.edu/ondb). The ONDB was developed to catalog information about the cost, chemical properties, and biodegradation potential of commonly used organonitrogen compounds. A cross-institutional team of undergraduate researchers worked in collaboration with two faculty members and a postdoctoral fellow to develop the database. Students carried out extensive online literature searches and used a biodegradation prediction website to research and represent the microbial catabolism of different organonitrogen compounds. Participants employed computational tools such as R, Shiny, and flexdashboard to construct the database pages and interactive web interface for the ONDB. Worksheets and forms were created to encourage other students and researchers to gather information about organonitrogen compounds and expand the database. Student progress was evaluated through biweekly project meetings, presentations, and a final reflection. The ONDB undergraduate research experience provided a platform for students to learn bioinformatics skills while simultaneously developing a teaching and research tool for others.

中文翻译：

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开发有机氮生物降解数据库：在大流行期间向大学生教授生物信息学和协作技能。

物理上的疏远和无法使用实验室设施为将本科生的研究经验过渡到远程数字平台提供了机会，从而为他们的培训增加了另一层次的教学法。基本的生物信息学技能以及对科学文献的批判性分析对于解决现代生物学中的研究问题至关重要。本文介绍的工作描述了一种完全在线的协作研究经验，旨在让大学生学习这些技能。研究经验集中在有机氮生物降解数据库（ONDB，z.umn.edu/ondb）的开发和实施上。ONDB的开发目的是对有关常用有机氮化合物的成本，化学性质和生物降解潜力的信息进行分类。一个跨机构的本科生研究团队与两名教职员工和一名博士后研究员合作开发了数据库。学生进行了广泛的在线文献搜索，并使用了生物降解预测网站来研究和代表不同有机氮化合物的微生物分解代谢。参与者使用了诸如R，Shiny和flexdashboard之类的计算工具来构建ONDB的数据库页面和交互式Web界面。创建工作表和表格是为了鼓励其他学生和研究人员收集有关有机氮化合物的信息并扩展数据库。通过每两周一次的项目会议，演讲和最后的反思来评估学生的进步。