GENETICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(BIOLOGY 218) - Spring 2003
Professor
:
Dr. George Mourad
Textbook
:
GENETICS: from Genes to Genomes
Authors: L.H. Hartwell, L. Hood, M.L. Goldberg, A.E.
Reynolds, L.M. Silver, R.C. Veres
First Edition, 2000
Office
:
Office hours :
Science Building, Room 380
Phone: 481-5704
E-mail: mourad@ipfw.edu
Web site:
http://users.ipfw.edu/mourad/Courses/courses.htm
Monday
10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Wednesday 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Friday
3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Or by appointment
Grading and evaluation:
There is a total of 600 points assigned for this course. The lecture material is
worth 450 points (75%) and the laboratory part is worth 150 points (25%). For the
lecture material, there will be four exams. The first three exams are not
comprehensive. The final exam will be partially comprehensive.
The distribution of points is as follows:
Exam I
Exam II
Exam III
Exam IV
Laboratory
Total
= 100 points
= 100 points
= 100 points
= 150 points
= 150 points
= 600 points
Attendance is expected and will be taken each lecture. Attendance will be used
only to help you if you are at a border line between two grade categories (B/A, C/B or
D/C). In other words, if you attended 42 out of the 45 lectures and you need one
percent to change your grade from B to A then you will have this point. The same
applies to C/B and D/C border line grades. In previous years, several students profited
from this.
VERY IMPORTANT: Makeup exams are not allowed except for strong medical reasons
documented by a medical certificate from your physician or for a strong personal
reason that will be subject to my approval. A makeup up exam for the previous reasons
will be allowed only ONCE during the semester. You should call or
e-mail me BEFORE the exam if possible and arrange with me for a time to take the
makeup exam within 48 hours following the originally scheduled exam.
Laboratory:
The laboratory part of this course will consist of two main parts. In the first part
you will do experiments dealing with classical genetics such as Mendelian monohybrid
and dihybrid crosses in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, three-point mapping in
Drosophila melanogaster, allozyme variation in fish and natural selection in fruit flies.
This first part will take the first half of the semester and will be taught by Dr. Robert
Gillespie. In the second part of the semester, starting after the spring break, you will do
experiments dealing with molecular genetics and genetic engineering. This will take the
second half of the course and will be taught by Dr. George Mourad. In molecular
genetics, you will do genetic engineering of bacteria with an unknown plasmid DNA
molecule. You will identify the plasmid molecule by purifying plasmid DNA from the
transformed bacteria, digesting the plasmid DNA with endonuclease restriction
enzymes and do DNA agarose gel electrophoresis. You will also isolate chromosomal
DNA from a small plant (Arabidopsis thaliana) and clone different genes using the
technique of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by ligation into different vectors.
Date
Topic
--------------------------------------------------------------------Jan 13
Principles
1
10-37
Jan 15
Mendelian Inheritance in Humans
Jan 17
Solving Problems
Jan 20
Jan 22
Jan 24
HOLIDAY (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Gene Interactions, Multiple alleles
Epistasis
Jan 27
Jan 29
Jan 31
Solving Problems
The Chromosome theory of Inheritance 3
Sex Determination & Solving Problems
Feb 3 Gene Linkage & 3 Point Mapping
Feb 5 Solving Problems
Feb 7 Review
Chapter
Pages
Introduction & Mendelian
2
38-69
70-104
4
105-141
Feb 10
Feb 12
Feb 14
EXAM I
Structure of Genetic Material
DNA Replication & Recombination
5
144-178
Feb 17
Feb 19
Feb 21
Review
Molecular Basis of Mutations
Fine Gene Structure (Complementation)
6
179-221
Feb 24
Feb 26
Feb 28
Biochemical Genetics
Review
Transcription in Prokaryotes
7
222-258
Mar 3 Transcription in Eukaryotes
Mar 5 Translation (Protein Synthesis)
Mar 7
Review
Mar 10
Mar 12
Mar 14
Spring Break
Spring Break
Spring Break
Mar 17
Mar 19
Mar 21
EXAM II
The Eukaryotic Chromosome (Packaging)
DNA Packaging & Gene Expression
11
390-418
Mar 24
Mar 26
Mar 28
Catch Up
Chromosomal Rearrangements
Transposable Elements
12
419-460
Mar 31
Numerical Chromosomal Aberrations
Apr 2 Bacterial Genetics
Apr 4 Catch Up
13
461-500
Apr 7 Mitochondrial Genetics
Apr 9 Chloroplast Genetics
Apr 11 Review
14
Apr 14
EXAM III
Apr 16 Gene Regulation in Prok. (Lac Operon) 15
Apr 18 Tryptophan Operon (Attenuation)
501-526
530-557
Apr 21 Gene Regulation in Euk. (Transcript.)
Apr 23 Regulation Post-transcriptional
Apr 25 Review
16
558-589
Apr 28 Molecular Genetics in Medicine
Apr 30 Continuation
May 2
Review
9
308-340
May 5 EXAM IV (8:00 am - 10:00 am)
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