Biology 261 - Molecular and General Genetics
Winter Semester 2014
Dr. Whiteway
Course Outline and Schedule
2
Course Organisation and Grading Scheme
4
Biology 261 - Molecular and General Genetics
Course Outline and Schedule -- Winter Semester 2014
- Dr. WhitewayText: An Introduction to Genetic Analysis, 10th edition
Griffiths, Wessler, Carroll, Doebley
1.
Mendelian genetic analysis
Jan. 7, 9
Mendelian inheritance 1 and 2 genes
Reading: Recommended Chapter 1
Important: Chapter 2, pg. 29- 40; Chapter 3, pg. 81-91
2.
Chromosomal basis of genetic inheritance
Jan. 14, 16
Mitosis, meiosis,
Sex determination and sex linkage
Important: Chapter 2 pg. 34-54, 77-79
3.
The mapping of genes on eukaryotic chromosomes
Jan. 21, 23
Chi squared test
Important: Chapter 4
4.
The Genetics of Bacteria and Their Viruses
Chapter 5
Jan. 28, 30
Reading: Chapter 5 (but not specialized transduction)
Auxotrophy, mapping: conjugation, transduction. Episomes
5.
From Gene to Phenotype
Feb. 4, 6
Reading: Chapter 6
One gene one polypeptide
Mutation of structural genes - molecular basis
Complementation
The molecular basis of dominance and recessiveness
Gene interactions
Modified inheritance ratios 3:1, 9:3:3:1
6.
DNA-structure and function. Chapter 7
DNA as genetic material, historical development:
Avery, McLeod, McCarty; Hershey-Chase
Chargaff; Watson and Crick
DNA Structure, DNA Replication
MIDTERM EXAM Feb 18 – Review of exam Feb 20
Feb. 11, 13
7.
RNA Transcription, Processing, Chapter 8
Gene Transcription and RNA processing
March 4
8.
Translation – Protein synthesis
March 6
9.
Control of gene expression. Chapter 11,
The lac operon, attenuation, eukaryotic promoters
March 11
10.
Recombinant DNA techniques, Chapter 10
March 13, 18
Chapter 9
Restriction endonucleases, ligation DNA cloning,
plasmid vectors, DNA cloning, sequencing
11.
Genetics and Cancer Chapter 16
March 20, 25
12.
Population Genetics. Chapter 18.
March 27, April 1
Allelic frequency in populations
Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
Inbreeding
Variation due to:
Mutation
Selection
Migration
Founder effects
Inbreeding
12.
Large Scale Chromosomal Changes – Chapter 17
Reading: Chapter 17
Euploidy and Aneuploidy
Chromosomal rearrangements
Duplication, deletions, inversions, translocations
April 8
13.
Genomics
Reading: Chapter 14
April 10,15
Welcome to Molecular and General Genetics
Genetics is one of the most interesting and important topics in biology. It is a fascinating subject in
itself, and in the last few decades it has also become an extremely important component of many
other specialities within biology. There have been very rapid advances in understanding genetics
and there has been extensive development of new information based on recombinant DNA
technology and whole genome analysis. Advances in DNA sequencing are providing us with
amazing insights into ourselves as a species, and how we fit into the web of life. We are thus
studying genetics at a very propitious time. Overall, genetics, genomics and recombinant DNA
technology are having a large impact on science, medicine, agriculture, forensics and industry.
At a practical level, genetic research is creating new methods of disease diagnosis and treatment,
more efficient ways to create and manufacture pharmaceutical products, new ways to
decontaminate polluted land, novel approaches to the improvement of crops and the reduction of
pesticide use in agriculture, and new tools for the forensic identification of victims and perpetrators
of crimes. The development of biotechnology is also creating controversies that include concerns
over discrimination in health insurance based on genetic predisposition to diseases, worries over the
potential loss of personal privacy, and concerns over GMOs and the patenting of genes and
organisms.
In this course we will provide the basic concepts of genetics to develop a foundation on which your
education and your public awareness of these issues will be able to grow.
ORGANIZATION
There are two lectures per week and one tutorial section per week. You should attend all the
lectures and your tutorial sessions. Come on time to lectures and don’t leave until the lecture is
over. Don’t talk during lectures. In the tutorial you will meet with a teaching assistant and will
work on answering assigned problems. There will also be regular quizzes during the tutorials.
You must attend the tutorial section to which you are registered and can only change sections with
the permission of the professor. You cannot substitute the quiz or essay of your tutorial section
with that from another section.
Access the course WEB site at: https://www.myconcordia.ca/; log on and go to Course Websites
and find Biol 261. You can log on to the site with your name and student ID. The site will have
the slides for the lectures, the list of practice problems for the course, the class schedule and
announcements. Update your email address, so you can receive announcements for the course.
The publisher of the textbook has a web site for this book and the animations that illustrate key
concepts in genetics can be viewed at the WH Freeman WEB site:
www.whfreeman.com/iga10e
There will be office hours attended by teaching assistants throughout the week. The hours are yet to
be announced and will be posted on the course WEB site.
GRADING SCHEME
The grading scheme used in Biol 261 is based on marks from the tutorial section, the midterm,
and the final exam as follows:
20% Tutorial mark
30% Midterm exam
50% Final exam
If the final exam mark is higher than the midterm exam mark, the midterm exam score will be
ignored and the grading scheme becomes:
20% Tutorial
80% Final Exam
YOU MUST TAKE THE MIDTERM EXAM FOR THIS POLICY TO BE INVOKED.
The midterm will cover all material covered in lecture up to the date of the midterm. The final
will cover material from the entire course, with approximately 30% of the questions coming from
material covered before the midterm and 70% from after the midterm.
TUTORIAL MARKS
The mark you receive for your tutorial section counts as 20% of your final grade. The
tutorial marks are based on quizzes and take-home short essays. In addition, you will receive
points for group oral presentations of the problems during the tutorials that will count toward a
bonus mark.
A standard tutorial session will consist of 4 elements. You will arrive at the tutorial
having prepared answers for that week’s 5 multiple choice questions; these questions will be
posted on Moodle the Friday of the previous week. The first element of the tutorial will be
discussion of points that arise from the lectures and the take home essays. The second element
will be going over the answers for the week’s multiple choice questions – the ones posted the
previous Friday that you have prepared and worked on at home. The third element will be a quiz
– this will involve 5 multiple choice questions that are similar to the questions you worked on the
week before. The last section will be going over the answers to last week’s quiz so you can
clarify any points that you were unclear on.
1. Quizzes will start in the third week of the semester and are given every week thereafter
except during the midterm week. Approximately 11 quizzes will be given; your 7 best quiz
grades will be taken to determine 70% of your tutorial mark (i.e. 14% of your overall score for
the course).
2. Short essay questions are assigned each week starting in the second week of the
semester, except during the midterm week. Your top six essay scores are taken to determine
30% of your tutorial mark (i.e. 6% of your overall score for the course).
3. Problem presenting. During the tutorial the TA will ask individual students to present
answers to the multiple choice questions and explain the logic of the answer. This will work
towards bonus points added to your final score. Bonus scores are very valuable because they are
added after the grade distribution is determined. A maximum of 3% can be earned as bonus
points from tutorial work and clicker questions in class. In most cases this is sufficient to raise a
grade by one "+/-" unit, i.e. from a B+ to an A-. Thus, the grading for the problem presentations
will be rather stringent. On a scale of 0 to 10, an "acceptable" presentation will be scored as 5, a
"good" would be a 6 or 7, and a 10 must be truly excellent.
There are thus grading incentives for performance in each aspect of the tutorials. More
importantly, the weekly practice and application of genetic analysis will greatly help you to learn
this subject and help you to perform well on the midterm and final exams.
MAKE-UP EXAMS
The university allows make-up exams for students who miss the FINAL EXAM for a medical
reason with a written documentation from a physician. However the make-up exams are given 3
to 9 months later and the delay alone adds difficulty to the exam. You are strongly urged to stay
healthy and take the final exam. You can improve you chances of staying healthy by getting
enough sleep, eating well and avoiding infections by washing your hands regularly.
There are no make-up exams for midterm exams or quizzes.