Describe the basic chemical structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), and their function in the processes of replication, transcription, and translation of genetic information. [BIOL 1010] [BIOL 1030]
Compare different methods of analyzing single nucleotide polymorphisms, and detail how they can be used in population genetic analyses. [BIOL 3042] 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 DNA microsatellites, the models of how they mutate, and their uses in population genetics, pedigree analyses, behavioural ecology and forensic analyses [BIOL 3042] 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] Explain how DNA sequence data are used to identify species, and how this methodology has developed into a new subdiscipline of taxonomic science known as ‘DNA barcoding’ [BIOL 3042] 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] Outline newer variations of PCR, quantitative PCR (qPCR) and reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR), and their applications in molecular ecology [BIOL 3042] 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 evolutionary significance of mutations at different levels of complexity. Apply evolutionary theory to understand impacts of mutations on fitness, rates of molecular evolution and genetic control of mutation. [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
