BIO120 Genetics

The following topics will be covered: Mitosis and Meiosis, Mendelian Genetics, Modification of Mendelian Ratios, Chromosome Mutations: Variation in Number and Arrangement, Linkage and Chromosome Mapping in Eukaryotes, DNA Structure and Analysis, DNA Replication and Synthesis, Chromosome Structure and DNA Sequence Organization, The Genetic Code and Transcription, Translation and Proteins, Gene Mutation, DNA repair, and Transposition, Recombinant DNA Technology, Quantitative Genetics, Population Genetics, Evolutionary Genetics and Conservation Genetics.

The exercises include demonstrations, calculations, lab exercises and are intended to give the students practice in conducting basic genetic analysis and experience in central techniques of molecular biology.

This course gives the student basic knowledge in

1. Classical genetics
2. Molecular genetics
3. Population and quantitative genetics

Knowledge

The student

• Can describe processes involved in mitosis and meiosis and explain the consequences of crossing over in meiosis.
• Can explain how Mendel's postulates describe the inheritance of certain traits, give examples of deviations from Mendelian ratios, and explain what is meant by quantitative inheritance.
• Can describe the structure of proteins, genes, chromosomes and DNA, and explain processes involved in replication, transcription and translation.
• Can explain how transcription and translation are regulated in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
• Can describe how mutations at chromosome and gene level occur and give examples of how this can affect phenotype.
• Can describe basic and new methods in recombinant DNA technology.
• Can describe the main principles behind different types of sequence data (at DNA, RNA and protein level) and bioinformatics.
• Can explain the assumptions, uses and limitations of the Hardy-Weinberg law.
• Can describe how allele and genotype frequencies vary, and how this can lead to isolated populations and new species over time.
• Can elucidate genetic mechanisms important for ecology and nature management.

Skills

The student

• Can apply formulas and simple statistical methods to, among other things, determine geno- and phenotype frequencies, the order of genes on a chromosome, calculate heritability for quantitative traits, and investigate changes in allele- and genotype frequencies.
• Can interpret important terms in classical genetics, molecular genetics, population- and quantitative genetics as a preparation for more advanced subjects in biotechnology, microbiology, molecular biology and genetics.
• Can carry out practical experiments in genetics, and report and evaluate the results.

Transferrable skills

The student

• Can collaborate with other students and present own work.
• Can evaluate own and other students' work.
• Can use feedback on own achievements to further develop own knowledge.
• Can meet deadlines.