CTY Genetics Syllabus
Week 1: Review and Mendelian Genetics
Day
1
Topic
Introduction and Review
• Classroom Policies/
Syllabus
• Lab Safety
• Practice of Science
• Cell Biology
• Mitosis/Meiosis
• Model Organisms
What (DUE DATE)
Morning
• Ice Breaker Game/Introductions
• Distribute Syllabus, Discuss Course Outline
• Lab Safety Introduction and equipment practice
 Introduction to Pipettes
• Scientific Method and Lab Reports
 Safety Rules PostersAfternoon
• Lecture/Notes to review Cell Biology
• Scientific Drawing Practice – Draw/Label Animal
Cells
• Lecture/Notes- Review Mitosis and Meiosis
• Build and Compare Models of Mitosis/Meiosis
Evening (Assignments)
• Review Cell Biology/Mitosis/Meiosis
• Reading on Patterns of Inheritance
• Lab Notebook Biographies- on page 1 of the lab
notebook, write a short biography of yourself and
your study of science.
• Write a short paper in your lab notebook about the
“perfect” model organism for studying genetics
(~1 page)
2
Mendelian Genetics
• Macromolecule
Properties and
Identification
• Mendelian Genetics
and Punnett
Squares
Morning
• Model Organism Characteristics
• Lecture/Notes on Macromolecules
 Carbs/Protein/Nucleic Acid/Lipid
• Lab Safety and Procedures Review
• ID of Macromolecules Lab
Afternoon
• Lecture/Class notes -Mendel,
dominant/recessive/, genotype/phenotype,
mono/dihybrid crosses, Laws of
Independent Assortment and Random
Segregation
• Practice with Punnett Squares
• Lecture/Class notes-Pedigrees
• Using Pedigrees to Track Inbreeding and
Disease Alleles Activity
Evening
• Introduction to Geniverse (online genetics
web activity)
Course Outline CTY Genetics
Page 2
Day
3
Topic
What
Mendelian
Morning
Genetics pt 2
• Warm-Up challenge- Murder Mystery
• Codominance
• Lecture/Notes on Mendelian Genetics part 2
• Multiple alleles
 Codominance, multiple allele traits,
incomplete dominance
• Incomplete
Dominance
• Genetics in Harry Potter’s World Activity
• Lecture/Notes on Pleiotropy and Epistasis
• Pleiotropy
• Discussion and Practice using Pedigrees with Complex Traits
• Epistasis
Afternoon
• Discussion- Genetic Counseling
• Case Study/Debate “Not Exactly…” parts 1&2
Evening
• Independent Student Research on a Genetic Disease and
poster preparation to share in class tomorrow
• Reading on Complex Traits
4
Genetic Diseases
Morning
• Penetrance
• Student Presentations on Genetic Diseases
• Expressivity
• “The Making of the Fittest”Afternoon
• HHMI Mendelian Genetics, Probability, Pedigree
Activity/Worksheets on Sickle Cell Trait
• Penetrance and Expressivity of Traits
• Survey of Student Phenotypes/Genotypes Ratios
Evening
• Independent Reading on Chromosome Structure
• pgs 4-9; 589-591; 599-614
• Guided Review sheet for Classical Genetics Quiz on Day 5
Chromosomal
Morning
Basis of Genetics
• Quiz on Mendelian Genetics
• Sex Linkage
• Chromosomal Basis of Genetics
• Chromosome
• Discovery of Sex-Linkage
Structure
• Advantages/Disadvantages of Sex-Linkage
Afternoon
• Introduction to Chromosome Structure
• Building Model Chromosomes
• Chromosomal Abnormalities
• Paper Karyotypes for Genetic Disorders
• Modern Techniques for Analyzing Chromosome Structure
and Number
Sunday Evening
• Finish Geniverse Simulation
5
Course Outline CTY Genetics
Page 3
Week 2: Molecular Genetics and The Central Dogma
Day Topic
6
Gene Linkage
• Discovery of
Linkage and
Recombination
• χ2 Tests for
linkage
What (time)
• How
Morning (140 minutes)
• Warm-Up Discussion- Hardest and Easiest Challenges in
Geniverse and WHY (15 minutes)
• Lecture/Class Notes- Thomas Hunt Morgan, the fruit fly,
discovery of linkage (45 minutes)
• Guided introduction- χ2 Tests (45 minutes)
• Paired Practice using χ2 tests (30 minutes)
Afternoon (120 minutes)
• Mapping Genes with Linkage Markers Activity (100
minutes)
• Lecture/Review of Gene Linkage and Mapping (20 minutes)
Day Topic
7
DNA Structure
• Discovery of
DNA Structure
• DNA Building
Blocks
Evening (120 minutes)
• Gene Mapping Now and Then (120 Minutes)
 Web-reading and online quizlet
What (time)
• How
Morning (140 minutes)
• Warm-Up Discussion and Cases: Research Ethics (20
minutes)
• Lecture/Class Notes- Discovery of DNA (20 minutes)
• Class Debate: The role of Rosalind Franklin (15 minutes)
• Lecture/Class Notes – Structure of DNA (40 minutes)
• Model Building- Structure of DNA -paired construction and
presentation to the class (45 minutes)
• Review of Lab Notebook and Lab Report Format (10
minutes)
Afternoon (120 minutes)
• Lab Activity- Isolation of DNA and comparison of diploid
and polyploid DNA yields (120 minutes)
Evening (120 minutes)
• Individual Lab Report Preparation
• Pop-Culture Genetics Readings
Course Outline CTY Genetics
Page 4
Day Topic
8
Mutation
• DNA Replication
• Causes and
Results of
Mutation
• Epigenetics
• Imprinting and
Disease
Day Topic
9
DNA-RNA-Protein
• Transcription
• Translation
• Bacterial and
Viral MolBio
Tools
What (time)
• How
Morning (140 minutes)
• Warm-Up Discussion: Molecular Biology in Pop Culture (15
minutes)
• Lecture/Class Notes: DNA Replication (45 minutes)
• Activity: Human PCR Machines (30 minutes)
• Lecture/Class Notes: Mutations in DNA (45 minutes)
Afternoon (120 minutes)
• Lecture/Class Notes- Epigenetics, Imprinting and Disease (60
minutes)
• Class Discussion- Nuclear Reprogramming (20 minutes)
• Research/Reading Activity – Who/What is Mitochondrial Eve?
(40 minutes)
Evening (120 minutes)
• Case Study Discussion/Debate “Not Exactly…” parts 3&4 (120
minutes)
 Continuation of genetic counseling case study
with molecular data for analysis
What (time)
• How
Morning (140 minutes)
• Warm-Up Activity: Draw and Label a Gene (10 minutes)
• Lecture/Class Notes: Transcription and Translation (25
minutes)
• Scientific Drawing- Production of a Protein from DNA to
export (20 minutes)
• Class Discussion- Review of Mutation Effects on DNA (10
minutes)
• Modeling Activity- DNA-RNA-Protein using
paper/beads/string to transcribe/translate/fold gene products(40
minutes)
• Begin Plasmid Mapping Lab Activity (35 minutes)
 Restriction Digest
Afternoon (120 minutes)
• Plasmid Mapping Gel Electrophoresis (45 minutes)
• Lecture/Class Notes- Bacterial and Viral DNA Tools (30
minutes)
• pGLO Transformation Lab Part 1 (45 minutes)
Evening (120 minutes)
• Plasmid Mapping Data Analysis/plasmid assembly (50 minutes)
• Student guided study for Quiz #2- central dogma
Course Outline CTY Genetics
Page 5
Day Topic
10
Regulating Gene
Expression
• The lac operon
• siRNA/RNAi
• microarrays
• qPCR
What (time)
• How
Morning (140 minutes)
• Quick Questions: Review Plasmid Mapping (15 minutes)
• Quiz #2: Central Dogma (20 minutes)
• Lecture/Class Notes: Methods of gene regulation- promoters,
silencers, and operons (35 minutes)
• HexBot Battles of the lac operon (30 minutes)
 Robot simulation of effect of inducers/repressors
• Scientific Drawing: Tracing genes from DNA-RNA-Protein
Structure with ID of regulator locations in each step (20
minutes)
• Lecture/Class Notes- Assays for gene expression- microarray
and qPCR (20 minutes)
Afternoon (120 minutes)
• siRNA Video- Nature Video (10 minutes) Nature Video Link to
Youtube
• Discussion of Knockdown vs knockout regulation of gene
expression- why bother? (15 minutes)
• HexBot Battles part 2: design a model of siRNA (30 minutes)
• pGLO Transformation Lab- part 2 (60 minutes)
Evening (120 minutes) (Sunday?)
• Independent student work on pGLO lab reports (60 minutes)
• Visualizing Gene Expression Patterns- “Click and Learn”
activity from HHMI Biointeractives (45 minutes)
(http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/visualizing-geneexpression-patterns)
Course Outline CTY Genetics
Page 6
Week 3: Topics in Genetics: Population Biology, Ecology, Biotechnology
Day Topic
11
Population
Genetics
• Variation
• Selection
• Speciation
• Darwin
• Hardy-Weinberg
• Evolution
What (time)
• How
Morning (140 minutes)
• Warm-Up Activity- Guided Primary Literature ReadingScience 11 February 1994: Vol. 263 no. 5148 pp. 802-805
(M. Chalfie et al) (30 minutes) GFP as a living cell label
• Lecture/Class Notes- Variation, Selection, Speciation,
Darwin and Hardy/Weinberg (45 minutes)
• Student Worksheet on Hardy-Weinberg (15 minutes)
• Student DNA Sample Isolation for Hardy-Weinberg Lab (50
minutes)
Afternoon (120 minutes)
• Hardy-Weinberg Lab- gel electrophoresis (45 minutes)
• “Got Lactase?” HHMI short video and discussion (30
minutes)
• HHMI web activity on Lactase regulation (15 minutes)
• Hardy-Weinberg Lab Data Analysis/Summation (30
minutes)
Evening (120 minutes)
• HHMI- Using DNA to Trace Human Migration (35 minutes)
 DNA Homology as Evidence for Evolution
• Hardy-Weinberg Lab Report (60 minutes)
• Textbook reading about recombinant DNA strategies (25
minutes)
Day Topic
12
What (time)
• How
Recombinant DNA, Morning (140 minutes)
Transgenics,
• Warm-Up Discussion- Is it a clone? (10 minutes)
Cloning/Stem Cells
• Lecture/Class Notes- Transgenic Techniques (30 minutes)
• Totipotent/
• HHMI Transgenic FlyLab – computer simulation (60
pluripotent/ES
minutes)
stem cells
• Class Debate- Ethics of Cloning (40 minutes)
• iPS Cells
• Nuclear
Afternoon (120 minutes)
Reprogramming
• Lecture/Class Notes: Introduction to Stem Cells (30 minutes)
• Cell Fate and
• Primary Literature Reading/Presentation in teams: iPS and
Patterning
nuclear reprogramming (Yamanaka and Gurdon papers) (60
minutes)
• Class Discussion- Future of Stem Cell Research (30 minutes)
Course Outline CTY Genetics
Page 7
Evening (120 minutes)
• Hardy-Weinberg Lab Notebook Reports
• Student selected independent reading and written summary
of a current published work in iPS/cloning/stem cell research
(75 minutes)
Day Topic
13
Cancer as a Genetic
Disease
• Cell Cycle
• Oncogenes
• DNA
Fingerprinting
• Genetic-Based
Treatment of
Disease
What (time)
• How
Morning (140 minutes)
• Student iPS research presentations (60 minutes)
• Lecture/Class Notes- Cell Cycle, p53/ Rb/oncogenes (45 minutes)
• “I always wondered…” and “This is weird, but what would
happen if…” Genetics Q&A/Discussion (20 minutes)
• Lecture/Class Notes- Telomeres and Chromosomal Aging (15
minutes)
Afternoon (120 minutes)
• Review Lab- DNA Crime Solving (120 minutes)
Evening (120 minutes)
• DNA Fingerprinting Stories
• Review for Post-Assessment (90 minutes)
Day Topic
14
Genetic Technology
and You
• GMOs
What (time)
• How
Morning (140 minutes)
• Quick Review and Q&A for Post-Assessment (15 minutes)
• Post Assessment (45 minutes)
• Class Discussion- Who Owns your Genes? (20 minutes)
• Lecture/Class Notes- GMO and GMO Food (40 minutes)
• Class Debate. Yes or No to GMOs? (20 minutes)
Afternoon (120 minutes)
• GMO Food Testing Lab and discussion (120 minutes)
Evening (120 minutes)
• Gattaca- film and discussion
Day Topic
What (time)
• How
Course Outline CTY Genetics
Page 8
15
Ethical Use of
Genetic Technology
• Ethics
• Genetic/Genomic
Based Treatment
and Diagnosis
Morning (140 minutes)
Course Outline CTY Genetics
•
•
•
Lecture/Class Notes- Genetic and Genomic Disease Treatment Case
Study parts 5+6 (60 minutes)
Student Discussion/Debate on Genetic Technology and Ethics (60
minutes)
Final Q&A about Genetics Topics (20 minutes)
Page 9