Genetics

Genetics is a course at the advanced level and provides deeper knowledge of several genetics topics, including all or some of the following:

• Simple and complex inheritance
• Genetic linkage and mapping in eukaryotes
• Variations in chromosome structure and numbers
• Gene mutations and DNA repair
• Transposons and selfish DNA
• Developmental biology
• Quantitative genetics
• Populations genetics
• Evolutionary genetics. 

After completion of the course, you are expected to have acquired the following competences:

• Know and understand key concepts in genetics, such as heritability, gene mapping and identification, genetic variation.
• Be able to read and understand scientific literature in the field of genetics.
• Be able to orally present genetics articles to peers.
• Be able to write a laboratory report in the style of a research article.
• Be able to maintain C. elegans strains and characterize their phenotypes.
• Be able to design a gene mapping strategy in C. elegans.
• Be able to critically judge the import of primary articles in the field of genetics.

Teaching

Many parts of the course are built around an original primary research article. After the introduction of the article in its historical setting, the experimental setup and results are presented, interpreted and discussed in a modern context. A rather ambitious semi-independent laboratory exercise involving the mapping of mutations in the model organism C. elegans spans several weeks of the course. A written laboratory report and at least one oral presentation are also part of the course.

This course is taught in English.