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| Detailed information |
| Original study plan |
Master's programme Biophysics 2019W |
| Objectives |
The aim of this course is to introduce students to different concepts in genetics and evolution applicable to understanding trends in genomic data. Specifically, the course will concentrate on central concepts in population genetics describing the main evolutionary processes changing our genome. The main topics that will be covered are the basic laws of allelic distribution, the processes that change allele frequencies, with special emphasis on mutation and recombination, and the mechanisms of extinction and speciation. The course will be supported by exercises, which are an essential tool to understand the discussed concepts. The course will also be based on the presentation of scientific research articles, in which students will prepare a presentation about the scientific paper. During the preparation of this presentation the student will learn about a specific topic in genetics, learn to put information in the context of a very specific research problem, think critically, and discuss and present results.
- To provide an introduction to genetics and evolution
- Explain relevant processes in genetics and evolution
- Apply concepts to solve basic exercises
- Learn to read primary scientific literature in topics related to evolutionary genetics
- Practice discussing scientific research papers
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| Subject |
1.Introduction to evolutionary genetics
- Evolutionary history to understand biology today
- Biological dogma: From genes to proteins
- The genetic code
- The structure of the DNA
- Mendel’s laws of inheritance
2. Genome variation
- Genotype and phenotype-Mendelian genetic diseases
- Polymorphisms and heterozygosity
- Allele frequency
- Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
- Frequency of heterozygotes
- Identity by descend
3. Molecular methods to measure genome variation
- Genotyping
- Microarrays
- Next-generation sequencing
- Detection of SNV and microsatellites
4. Processes that change our genome
A. Mutations
- Types of mutations
- How are mutations introduced
- Repair pathways
- Paternal age effect
B. Meiotic recombination
- Process of meiosis
- Types of recombination
- How does recombination introduce new variations?
- What is genetic distance?
- Pedigree maps
- Linkage disequilibrium
- Recombination hotspots
C. Random neutral evolutionary processes
- Random Genetic drift
- Bottlenecks
D. Selection
- Selection on variation
- Balancing selection
- Mutation and selection
5. Measuring evolution
- Phylogenetics
- Methods to measure evolutionary distances
- The molecular clock
- Migration and admixture
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| Criteria for evaluation |
- Exercises: Homework (10%)
- Final exam: short answer / multiple choice questions / exercises (40%)
- Presentation (40%)
- Participation (10%)
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| Methods |
Lectures will be combined with exercises explained in class. Exercises will be solved outside of class, but some sample questions will be explained on the blackboard. An important aim of the course is also for students to understand how experiments are performed to discover the evolutionary processes in our genome; thus, students will read, present and discuss in class research articles from original scientific literature.
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| Study material |
- Principles of Population Genetics by Daniel Hartl and Andrew Clark ed. (Sinauer, 2nd edition 2009).
- Evolution (CSHL by Nicholas Barton, Derek Briggs, Jonathan Eisen, David Goldstein, Nipam Patel, ed. )
- Human Evolutionary Genetics by Jobling, Mark; Tyler-Smith, Chris; Hollox, Edward; Hurles, Matthew; Kivisild, Toomas. Second Edition (Taylor and Francis CRC.
Also see: http://www.intechopen.com/books/studies-in-population-genetics
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| Changing subject? |
No |
| Corresponding lecture |
(*)675GTSBTGEK15: KV Topics in Genetics & Evolution (3 ECTS)
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| Earlier variants |
They also cover the requirements of the curriculum (from - to)
675GTSBTGEK15: KV Topics in Genetics & Evolution (2015W-2019S)
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