Analyze human pedigrees to determine if a trait is dominant or recessive, if the gene for the trait is located on an autosome or sex chromosome, and if the trait is likely controlled by a single gene or more than one gene. [BIOL 1010] Define Mendel’s two laws of heredity that explain the transmission of traits from one generation to the next [BIOL 1010] [BIOL 1030] Define gene flow and genetic drift (and founder effect) and explain how they influence allele frequencies in populations [BIOL 1010] Use the Hardy-Weinberg principle to calculate expected genotype and allele frequencies (1 Locus, 2 Alleles) [BIOL 1010]
Comprehend different evolutionary models for genetic load and how these led to the neutral theory of molecular evolution. Understand and describe the “Neutral theory” and the “nearly neutral theory”. Know the major predictions of neutral theory and give examples where predictions have been validated with real molecular data. Comprehend both the benefits and pitfalls of neutral theory. [BIOL 3046] Comprehend the complexity of homology relationships under a variety of different molecular evolutionary processes. [BIOL 3046] Demonstrate the relationship between critical thinking and good scholarship within a course project. [BIOL 3046] Describe the general features of mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes (mtDNA and cpDNA), and how they make these ‘cytoplasmic’ genomes especially useful in population genetics and phylogeography [BIOL 3042] Know mechanisms for functional divergence at the molecular level that span a wide range of biological complexity. Understand how specific models of adaptive evolution explain real examples of functional divergence. [BIOL 3046] Know updates and extensions to Darwinian theory that led to modern theory. Comprehend and explain principles arising from the neo-Darwinian synthesis and neutral theory. [BIOL 3046] Understand how explicit models of population genetic processes serve as the theoretical foundation for microevolution. Apply these models to understand different mechanisms of evolution acting on real biological data. [BIOL 3046] Understand how molecular evolutionary processes give rise to patterns of genetic diversity that we observe in the natural world, and how to use those patterns to make inferences about different processes. [BIOL 3046] Understand the importance of molecular evolution in the post-genomic era, and be able to explain this to non-specialists. [BIOL 3046] Use knowledge of molecular evolution for clear and explicit communication and exchange of ideas about the topic within a course project. [BIOL 3046]
BIOL 2030
