Dr. Russell - Genetics - Spring '09

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Objectives

What You Can Do To Learn The Most From This Section

Basically, you need to build your knowledge and mastery of genetics/molecular genetics as we go through the section. Material presented in one lecture is a foundation for the next lecture and so on—lectures are not a string of unconnected topics. Hence, it is important that you come to that next lecture with a clear understanding of the previous lecture or lectures. A lot of material—several chapters' worth—is covered in this four-week section of the course. Cramming for the 'exam' will not substitute for progressive learning of the material throughout the section.

Talking With Me

Office is B106—enter through my lab., B104. I have no specific office hours but am here all day every weekday and am happy to have you drop in to ask questions. If you want a specific appointment, we can do that too. email is yeast@reed.edu—I will answer your questions as quickly as possible

Exams

Topics and Textbook Reading

All reading assignments for this section will be from:
BIOLOGY: THE DYNAMIC SCIENCE, Volume 1 by Peter Russell, Stephen Wolfe, Paul Hertz, Cecilie Starr, and Beverly Macmillan © 2008, Thomson-Brooks/Cole. Volume 1 is the first 18 chapters of the complete book. Each of you has been loaned a copy of the book to use during the section, and in your preparation for the final. We will collect the book from you at or before the time of the final so that students next year can use it.

Reviewing Previously Presented Topics

Topics have been presented in previous sections of the course that are also traditionally part of the coverage of genetics. Please review those topics from your lecture notes and from a textbook as necessary to be confident that you understand them and so that we can build on them. The topics were as follows with chapter and pages for BIOLOGY (Russell 1E) and for LIFE (Sadava 8E)—RK = R. Kaplan, KK = K. Karoly, and JM = J. Mellies:

In my section, I will cover gene segregation principles, DNA structure, transcription, the genetic code and translation with the assumption that you have learned some of the material in those previous sections, although you may not remember all the key concepts. Some overlap with the presentations made in those sections will be necessary.

Reading Assignments

We will go through most of the core genetics/molecular chapters in the book. To prepare for the recombinant DNA labs in weeks 2-4, some material in Chapter 18 will be presented mostly in the lab lectures. It is impossible to tell you exactly which topics will be in each lecture day. Therefore, the list below is a guide. Assume that we are moving through the chapters in order (with the above-mentioned exception) and then you can read ahead with that in mind.

Topic Reading from Russell BIOLOGY
Lab Lecture 1 + Lectures 1 and 2  
Mendel, Genes, and Inheritance: single-gene and two-gene
inheritance; genes and chromosomes		 Ch 12: 235-245
Genetic linkage and sex-linked genes Ch 13: 255-266
Additions and modifications to Mendel's principles: incomplete
dominance; codominance; multiple alleles; epistasis; polygenic
inheritance; pleiotropy		 Ch 12: 245-252
Chromosomal alterations that affect inheritance
Human genetics		 Ch 13: 269-272
X chromosome inactivation in female mammals Ch 13: 264-266
Nontraditional patterns of inheritance: cytoplasmic inheritance;
genomic imprinting		 Ch 13: 272-274
Lectures 3–7  
Cell structure and function (brief review) Ch 5, pp. 92-104
DNA Structure, Replication, and Organization Ch 3: pp. 64-67
Ch 14: all (pp. 277-300)
Protein structure Ch 3: pp. 55-64
From DNA to Protein (Gene Expression) Ch 15: all (pp. 301-328)
Control of Gene Expression Ch 16: all (pp. 329-350)
Lecture 8  
Applications of DNA technologies (some) and genomics Ch 18: p. 379 on
Lab Lectures 2-4  
DNA Technologies and Genomics—cloning and analysis of genes Ch 18: first section, plus some of 2nd

If you wish also to read the equivalent material in Sadava 8e, use the Table of Contents in the front of the book and
the Index at the back of the book to find it.

Recommended Web Sites with Genetics-Related Material

"DNA From The Beginning" – an animated primer on the basics of DNA, genes, and heredity at
http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/

"Morgan: A Genetics Tutorial" – a multimedia tutorial on the principles of genetics, including molecular genetics at
http://morgan.rutgers.edu/MorganWebFrames/How_to_use/HTU_Frameset.html

"Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM)" - a very current catalog of human genes and genetic disorders at
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/omim

"Virtual Library on Genetics" – many links at
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/genetics.shtml