Department of Biology & Biochemistry, Unit Catalogue 2008/09 |
BB10007 Genetics |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Certificate |
| Semester: 2 |
| Assessment: EX 60%, MC 10%, PR 30% |
| Requisites: |
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Aims & Learning Objectives: Aims: To introduce the principles of inheritance, to describe the chemical nature of inheritable material and the molecular basis of mutagenesis, to describe the structure and expression of genes and genomes in cells, to enable the student to appreciate how genetic data are generated and interpreted, to show basic genetic techniques in a wide range of organisms. After taking the course the student should be able to: * explain Mendelian principles and their underlying concepts * explain and create a genetic map * describe how the chemical structure of DNA accounts for information encoding and its change * appreciate the structure and dynamic nature of the genome * understand the basis of the gene transfer in prokaryotes. Content: Topics: Principles of inheritance in eukaryotes; chemical nature of the gene; structure of genomes; gene expression; mutagenesis; non-Mendelian genetic systems. Practical sessions cover: Random assortment of two genetic markers in the fruit fly (Drosophila); sex linkage in Drosophila; tetrad analysis in a fungus (Sordaria); complementation testing in the yeast Saccharomyces; genetic mapping in the fungus Aspergillus; mutagenesis in the bacterium Salmonella; genetic polymorphism in Homo sapiens. |