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Biol 2511: Genetics Fall 2006 page
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Biol 2511: Genetics Fall 2006
Syllabus page 1 of 7
Instructor: Selene Nikaido, Ph.D.
Office: WCM 315A
Contact: 660-543-4324 (voice)
660-543-4355 (fax)
[email protected] (email)
Office hours: Mondays 2-5 p.m., Wednesday 2-3 p.m., Fridays 9:30-10:30 a.m. and
1:30-2:30 p.m. or by appointment
Course hours: MWF noon-1 p.m. in WCM 322 (lecture) and Thursdays 10-11:50 a.m. or
2–3:50 p.m. in WCM 315 (laboratory)
Course textbook: Pierce, B.A. (2005) Genetics: A Conceptual Approach, 2nd Edition.
New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.
Laboratory Manual: Instructions will be posted weekly on Blackboard.
Blackboard: http://courses.ucmo.edu or http://www.ucmo.edu (Click on Current Students
and Click on Blackboard)
Course Objectives
Learn concepts of transmission, molecular and population genetics
Relate genetics concepts to an understanding of other complex biological concepts
Understand how related concepts are similar and different (learn to compare and
contrast concepts)
Understand the nature of science and the scientific method
Learn the proper use of common laboratory equipment
Course features
Blackboard
In addition to lectures, laboratories and your textbook, course materials will be provided on
Blackboard. You may access Blackboard from any computer that has Internet capabilities.
The easiest way to access Blackboard is to go to the UCM website
(www.ucmo.edu) and click on “Current Students” in the menu bar near the top. Click on
“Blackboard” on the new page. If you have never used Blackboard or if you experience
difficulties using Blackboard, call the Blackboard hotline, 1-866-337-9179.
You may find the following features useful. You will want to check “Course Documents” for
weekly laboratory exercises. Here you will find information about the week’s laboratory.
Occasionally, important announcements for the course will be provided through Blackboard.
Grades may be viewed in Blackboard as well. I will post grades only through Blackboard.
You will see a course listing for the lecture and for the laboratory. On the laboratory course
listing, you will be able to view your lab scores. Nothing else is posted on the laboratory
course listing. All course materials will be posted on the lecture course listing only.
Shortcuts to course material can be found on the left menu bar on the Genetics lecture
homepage.
Guide to Studying Genetics
Success in Genetics will require a fair amount of work on your part. The amount of work
required will depend on a number of factors including your previous experience, your skill in
learning, and your goals for the course. I will provide many resources for you to achieve
your goals, but ultimately, you will be responsible for your success.
How to use your textbook
Your textbook is an essential resource for information that I want you to learn. The
following steps are suggestions guiding you to use your textbook efficiently.
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1. Read the assigned pages. I chose this textbook because I find it readable. I hope you do
so, too.
2. All unfamiliar words or words in bold should be treated as vocabulary words. Make note
cards with these vocabulary words and begin to memorize their definitions. You must know
the meaning of words before you can begin to place them in their proper context with other
concepts.
3. At the end of the chapter, you will find a summary of the concepts and new vocabulary
presented in the chapter. Make sure you understand the concepts and vocabulary.
4. Try to group and place vocabulary words in context with other vocabulary words and
concepts. If you make note cards of words, you can use the note cards to test your ability to
group words according to their relationships.
5. Use your lecture notes to guide you to what I think is important. Lectures serve as one of
several resources through which you can obtain information you need to know. The lecture
is not all encompassing so you will want to use your textbook as a reference to fill-in the
gaps within your lecture notes.
6. When writing your vocabulary note cards and when organizing your lecture notes, ask
yourself, “Do I really understand what I am writing?” If not, you need to ask someone for
help. It is better to start studying weeks before your examination, and not only during the
weekend or night (!) before an examination.
7. The textbook has an accompanying website with supplemental information. The address
to this site is www.whfreeman.com/pierce. You may want to visit this website for additional
presentations of the course material.
Questions and problems
An excellent way of gauging whether you understand the concepts is to do the problems
and answer the questions at the end of each chapter we cover. The answers to problems
with asterisks (*) have answers at the end of the textbook. Genetics is challenging because
it is a logical, analytical area of biology. To fully understand genetics, problems are
presented for you to solve. View these as mysteries or puzzles. Be tenacious and don’t
make excuses like “I cannot think logically,” or “It’s too hard and I’ll learn it later.” By doing
problems, you will improve your logical skills. Consider forming a study group, not so much
to have other people to learn from as to have a motivation to do the exercises and to make
learning genetics more fun.
Laboratory class
Laboratory class is a required component of the course. It is not a separate class. Even if
you have taken Genetics during a previous semester, you must attend and participate in
laboratory class for 25% of your grade. Prior to coming to class, you should read the
background description of the laboratory for the week. You will find the reading assignment
for the week’s laboratory in Blackboard under Course Documents. You want to read the
assigned background material before coming to class so you will understand the laboratory
exercise and be able to complete the exercise within the two-hour period. You will be tested
on the content of the laboratories through two examinations.
Attendance and courteous behavior
Attendance is required on days when lecture examinations and quizzes are scheduled.
Attendance is required for all laboratory classes. Failure to attend class will probably result
in a lower grade than you wish to obtain for this class. Attendance will be taken at every
lecture class, and regular attendance may be required if you are on federally sponsored
financial aid. If you arrive to class after I have already begun to talk, do not walk in front of
the class. Take a seat in the back or along the same side of the classroom as the door you
enter. When you walk in front of the class while I am lecturing, you are being discourteous
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to the students who arrived on time. Please turn off your cell phone when you attend class
to participate in a lecture, and to take an examination and quiz.
Assessment of performance in the course
You will be evaluated according to the following types of assessments.
➤ Examinations (4) 40% (400 points)
➤ Final examination 20% (200 points)
➤ Homework/In-class exercises 15% (150 points)
➤ Laboratory 25% (250 points)
Examinations: During the semester you will be given four 100-point examinations, which are
tentatively scheduled for the following dates:
Exam 1 – Wednesday, September 13
Exam 2 – Wednesday, October 4
Exam 3 – Wednesday, November 1
Exam 4 – Monday, November 20
The 200-point final examination will be given during finals week. The final must be given at
the time scheduled by the university. No exceptions are allowed unless you have two other
finals scheduled for that day. Only then can an arrangement be made to take the final at
another time. The final examination will be comprehensive with emphasis on topics since
the fourth exam and the last three laboratory classes. No examinations will be given
outside of the regularly scheduled time when the class takes the exam unless you are
absent due to a regularly scheduled university event (you must notify me prior to the test)
or in case of medical emergency or death in the family (you must provide documentation).
If you have a conflict due to a regularly scheduled university event, you must arrange to
take the exam prior to the scheduled day of the exam. If you miss an exam due to an
unforeseen event, you may petition for a make-up exam. It will be your responsibility to
petition for a make-up examination. It is my discretion to grant you the opportunity to
make-up an examination. It is also my discretion to alter the make-up examination from the
regularly scheduled examination so that a makeup examination taken after the class has
taken the regularly scheduled examination may be more difficult than the regularly
scheduled examination. No make-up final exams will be given. The final exam for this class is
scheduled for the last day of finals. Please do not assume you can make-up the final exam
because you have travel plans and will not be in Warrensburg that day. Make your travel plans
with the taking of the final exam at its regularly scheduled time in mind.
In-class exercises and homework: In-class exercises will be announced only on the day of the
exercise is given. Part of the role of in-class exercises is to provide you with group and
hands-on learning experiences. For this reason, I will not allow you to makeup in-class
exercises. You may ask for a copy of the exercise, but I will not give you credit for the work.
If you miss an in-class exercise because of a UCM-sponsored event, you must see me and bring a
signed letter indicating why you were gone. I will also give homework assignments. Homework
assignments will be announced in lecture class only. If you miss class, check with me to see
if a homework assignment was given. Homework assignments will have a deadline.
Generally, homework will not be accepted for grading after the deadline. Deadlines are
created to help you learn the value of being on time. Much success in business or a career
depends on being able to meet deadlines.
Laboratory: Laboratory performance will comprise 25% of your course grade. You will be
assessed in laboratory through the following:
1) one exam on September 28, 2006,
2) two reports – due on October 26 and on November 16
3) three in-class exercises on November 16, November 30 and December 7
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The exam will be worth 50 points. The reports will be worth 70 points each (140 points
total), and the in-class exercises will be worth 20 points each (60 points total). Missed
laboratory classes cannot be made-up. Attendance in laboratory class will also be taken.
Grade: Your course grade will be determined according to the amount of points you earn
throughout the semester. Grades will be assigned as follows:
Percentage of earned scores Course grade
100-90% A
89-80% B
79-70% C
69-60% D
<60% F
An exception to the above scale will be made for students who engage in academic
dishonesty (i.e., cheating or plagiarizing). Academic dishonesty includes the copying of
another student’s answers, using resource materials such as cheat sheets during
examinations, changing answers after graded exams have been returned, and asking for a
better exam score, etc. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. It may result in an F
grade for the course or more serious consequences. For further consequences of academic
dishonesty, consult the UCM student handbook, p. 124.
A note on plagiarism: Copying or paraphrasing other people’s writing without citing them is a
form of cheating called plagiarism. If you do not give credit for the words of others, you are
suggesting that the words are your own. It can be difficult sometimes to know whether the
words you write are original or paraphrased so that the words are considered the same as
another person’s. For examples of what constitutes plagiarism, consult this web site:
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html#wwwplagiarism.
Students caught plagiarizing will be subject to the penalties for cheating.
If you are a student with a documented disability and wish to seek
academic accommodations, you should contact the Office of
Accessibility Services, Union 20, (V) (TTY) 660-543-4421 as soon as
possible. Academic accommodations cannot be provided without
documentation from the Office of Accessibility Services.
Tentative Lecture Schedule†
Date Lecture Topic Textbook reference
Transmission Genetics
8/23 Introduction; Mendel’s experiment Chapter 2 & 3
8/25 Principle of Segregation Chapter 3
8/28 Principle of Independent Assortment Chapter 3
8/30 Probability Theory – Addition/Multiplication Rules Chapter 3
9/1 Chi-square analysis Chapter 3
9/4 Labor Day – Class dismissed
9/6 Sex Determination – by environment & chromosomes Chapter 4
9/8 Sex Determination in humans – Y chromosome Chapter 4
9/11 Sex Determination in Drosophila Chapter 4 (p. 83)
9/13 Exam 1 – September 13, 2006
9/15 Morgan’s experiment Chapter 4 (p. 83)
9/18 Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance Chapter 4
9/20 Inheritance of genes on X Chapter 4
9/22 Dosage compensation Chapter 4
9/25 Issues of dominance and expression Chapter 5
Biol 2511: Genetics Fall 2006 page
9/27 ABO blood group inheritance/Pedigree analysis Chapter 5 & Chapter 6
9/29 Gene interaction – two genes, one phenotype Chapter 5
10/2 Gene interaction – epistasis Chapter 5
10/4 Gene interaction with environment Chapter 5
Exam 2 – October 4, 2006
Molecular Genetics: Chemical Nature of the Gene
10/6 Griffith and Avery et al. Experiments Chapter 10
10/9 Hershey and Chase Experiment Chapter 10
10/11 Structure of DNA Chapter 10
10/13 Watson & Crick’s model of DNA Chapter 10
10/16 DNA/RNA secondary, chromosome structure Chapter 10 & 11
10/18 Chromosome structure: Packaging Chapter 11
10/20 Fall Break – Class dismissed
10/23 Chromosome structure: Transposition Chapter 11
10/25 DNA Replication: Meselson & Stahl Experiment Chapter 12
10/27 DNA Replication: Mechanism Chapter 12
10/30 DNA Replication: Mechanism Chapter 12
11/1 Exam 3 – November 1, 2006
Molecular Genetics: Expression of the Gene
11/3 Transcription: RNA synthesis Chapter 13
11/6 Transcription: Mechanism Chapter 13
11/8 RNA processing Chapter 14
11/10 Beadle and Tatum Chapter 15
11/13 Proteins Chapter 15
11/15 Translation Chapter 15
11/17 Genetic Code Chapter 15
11/20 Exam 4 – November 20, 2006
11/22 Thanksgiving – Class dismissed
11/24 Thanksgiving – Class dismissed
Population Genetics
11/27 Mutations Chapter 17
11/29 Mutations in genomes Chapter 17
12/1 Mutations resulting in disease Chapter 17
12/4 Hardy-Weinberg Law Chapter 23
12/6 Applications of Hardy-Weinberg Law Chapter 23
12/7 DNA variation and gene genealogies (phylogeny) Chapter 23
12/15 Final Exam, 8-10 a.m.
†Use
this schedule as a guide. This schedule may be subject to change.
This schedule will be given to you through the lab syllabus as well.
Lab Schedule
Lab Date Laboratory Text Reference
1 8/24 Gene Hunters Chapter 1, p. 1-7
2 8/31 DNA Isolation
3 9/7 Gel electrophoresis & pipettor use Chapter 18, p. 514-516
4 9/14 Restriction enzyme mapping Chapter 18, p. 509-514
5 9/21 Linkage mapping Chapter 7, p.160-184
9/28 Lab Exam I
6 10/5 Harvest of Fear Chapter 18, p. 538-539
7 10/12 PCR: GMO Chapter 18, p. 530-532
8 10/19 GMO PCR analysis (report 1) Chapter 18, p. 545-546,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/harvest
9 10/26 E. coli transformation with pGLO Chapter 8, p. 199-202, 213-215
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10 11/2 GFP isolation Chapter 19, p. 571
11 11/9 Protein electrophoresis (report 2)
12 11/16 Population Genetics: Alu (in-class 1) Chapter 11, p. 302, 310-311,
http://www.geneticorigins.org/geneticorigins/pv92/intro.html
13 11/23 Thanksgiving – No Laboratory Class
11/30 mtDNA analysis (in-class 2) Chapter 20, p. 587-596, Chapter 7, p. 184, Chapter 19,
p. 564-565
14 12/7 Bioinformatics (in-class 3) Chapter 19, p. 566