What to Expect From Lecture:
First of all, you should expect to be there. Your textbook is an excellent one, but it provides more information than we can cover this term. In the lectures for this course, I will highlight the information that I feel deserves more of our time. In this syllabus I have provided page numbers for the chapters when appropriate, and I will provide suggested problems online throughout the semester. As we meet for almost an hour and a half each class meeting, I will be doing my best to intersperse activities and discussions among the formal lectures. This should help us concentrate better in class (I have read that the average human attention span is 40 minutes), but more importantly, some of the material is best learned in ways other than via straight lecture. We will probably adhere fairly closely to the topics listed, but there certainly could be some extra time spent in places, or additional topics that present themselves.
Schedule of Topics, Readings, & Problems for Lecture
Date Reading Topics Problems & Downloads 9-5 Prologue; Ch. 1 Introductions: the depth and breadth of genetics; what you should review from previous classes -- 9-10 Ch. 1; start Ch. 2 Mendelian Genetics & Extensions: pre-Mendelian ideas of inheritance; Mendel's methods; Laws of Segregation & Independent Assortment; genotype/phenotype relationship; pedigrees; laws of probability all except 16, 25 9-12 Ch. 2 Transmission Genetics: Beyond Mendel: dominance relationships; multifactorial inheritance (e.g., epistasis, heterogeneous traits); penetrance & expressivity; complementation tests all except 10, 13, 23, 27 9-17 Ch. 3; Ch. 11 (390-399) Chromosomes & Cell Division: chromosome structure, type & ploidy; sex determination; mitosis & meiosis; sex-linked traits (crosses & pedigrees) Ch. 3 do all except 13, 14, 15d, 22, 24, 26, 27
Ch. 11 do #3 and #59-19 Ch. 4 (105-125) Linkage & Mapping: parental and recombinant phenotypes; recombination frequencies between linked genes; two and three point crosses; interference * all except 1eijk, 9, 12, 20-26
* 8 & 17 are difficult!
* 2,3,4 have chi-square parts9-24 Ch. 5 (144-157) DNA History & Structure: major steps in DNA discovery; Watson-Crick double helix model; biochemistry of DNA molecule #2-11 9-26 Ch. 5 (157-174) Replication I: continued DNA structure; semiconservative model of DNA replication #1, 13-19 10-1 Ch. 5 (157-174); Ch. 11 (399-403) Replication II & Recombination: molecular mechanism of replication; role of telomeres in DNA replication; molecular model of crossing over #21-23 10-3 continue from previous lecture continue from previous lecture -- 10-8 -- EXAM 1: on material from 9-5 through 10-3 review sheet; practice exam 10-10 Ch. 6 (179-194 & 201-206 but focus on what we talk about in class!) Mutation: what are they, spontaneous vs. mutagenic, types of mutagens, types of mutations, repair mechanisms, one-gene/one-enzyme hypothesis #1bfgij, 2-4, 6, 10, 12, 13a, 18-23 10-15 Ch. 7 (222-232 skim); alot of info not in text - I am happy to provide additional reading - just ask! Gene Expression I: interpreting the genetic code; universality of the genetic code; RNA polymerase; anatomy of a gene #8, 9, 11 10-17 Ch. 7 (232-240) Gene Expression II: molecular mechanism of transcription & RNA processing in eukaryotes #12, 14, 16-18 10-22 -- Fall Break -- 10-24 Ch. 7 (240-252) Gene Expression III: molecular mechanism of translation; perspective on mutation in light of genetic code #1, 15, 19, 23-24 10-29 Ch. 8 (280-293) Recombinant DNA Technology: crime solving, Part I! Ch. 8 #11, 22-25 10-31 Ch. 8 (262-280) Recombinant DNA Technology: crime solving, Part II! Ch. 8 #1 (the familiar terms), 2, 3, 6, 7, 12 11-5 -- Recombinant DNA Technology: movie Gattaca -- 11-7 Ch. 14 (503-517 see homework) & article online Ancient Mitochondrial DNA: properties of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA); use of mtDNA in human history questions in homework (download here) 11-12 -- EXAM 2: on material from 10-10 through 11-7 -- 11-14 Ch. 15 (530-540) Prokaryotic Gene Regulation: review prokaryotic transcription; types of proteins in prokaryotic gene regulation; lac operon as an example Ch. 15 #1 (except gh), 4, 6, 8a, 9, 12 11-19 Ch. 16 (558-569) Eukaryotic Gene Regulation: cis-acting elements (e.g., promoters, enhancers) & trans-acting elements (code for transcription factors); types of transcription factors; domains of regulatory proteins; Myc-Max system as an example Ch. 16 #1 (adgh), 5, 7, 10, 11 11-21 & 26 Ch. 17 (590-613) Biology of Cancer Group Work & Biology of Cancer Overview: normal control of cell cycle; oncogenes & tumor-suppressor genes; aspects of the cancer phenotype & types of mutations that result in each Ch. 17 #1, 2, 5, 7-9, 13, 15, 19, 20 download group work
11-28 -- Thanksgiving Break -- 12-3 625-637 Introduction to Developmental Genetics: model organisms; applying results from studies with model organisms; some methods in developmental genetics (e.g., saturation mutagenesis & complementation) -- 12-5 Ch. 22 (731-740) Mouse Developmental Genetics: mouse as a model organism; engineering transgenic & knockout mice, and applications of each Ch. 22 - none really focus on what we talked about 12-10 pp. 324 & 326; optional handout New Genetics! studying gene expression through microarrays/chip analysis -- 12-17 -- FINAL EXAM: on new material from 11-14 through 12-10; cumulative portion --
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