Genetics

Home E Syllabus and Course of Studies E Genetics

ΒΒ0305 | ECTS: 4
Theory: 2 hours/week | Tutorials: 1 hour/week

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students are expected to:

Describe the concepts of Genetics using the correct terminology.
Understand Mendel’s laws of segregation and independent assortment of alleles.
Solve exercises involving mono- and dihybrid crosses
Calculate the results of crosses based on the laws of probability.
Describe genetic linkage and recombination. Calculate genetic distances and describe the methods of creating genetic maps.
Understand the use of polymorphisms as genetic markers.
Describe the concept of mutation and categorize the mechanisms of mutagenesis.
Identify how an abnormal number of chromosomes can arise during cell division and associate changes in chromosome number and structure with the phenotype.

Analytical Description of the Course

PRINCIPLES OF MENDELIAN INHERITANCE: Mendel’s experiments (mono-, di-, tri-hybrid crosses). Application of Mendelian genetics to humans. Analysis of pedigrees.
EXTENSIONS OF MENDELIAN ANALYSIS: The diversity of allelic relationships. Multiple alleles. Lethal alleles. The effect of multiple genes on a trait. Genetic penetrance and expressivity. Introduction to statistics in genetic analysis.
LINKAGE ANALYSIS AND GENETIC MAPPING: The discovery of linkage. Recombination. Gene linkage. Linkage maps. Linkage analysis with three-point crosses. The phenomenon of interference. Genetic maps. Genetic markers and applications.
CHROMOSOMAL MUTATIONS: The topography of chromosomes. Types and mechanisms of induction of structural and numerical chromosomal abnormalities. Inactivation of the X chromosome.
POINT MUTATIONS: Mutations in somatic and germ cells. The molecular basis of mutations. Effects of mutations. Randomness of mutations. The Ames test. Transposable elements and mechanisms of transposition. Dynamic mutations from trinucleotide repeat expansions.
EXTRANUCLEAR INHERITANCE: Organization of organelle genomes. Mitochondrial DNA replication. Mitochondrial genetic code. Inheritance of mitochondria and chloroplasts. Investigation of genetic relationships by mitochondrial DNA analysis.

Student Performance Evaluation

Written examination with short answers, multiple choices, critical thinking questions and solving simple and complex genetics problems. The last two categories of examination methods correspond to 80% of the total points.

Reading Suggestions

iGenetics: A Molecular Approach (3rd Edition) by Russell, Peter J. published by Benjamin Cummings (2009)
Introduction to Genetic Analysis, 12th Edition by Anthony Griffiths, John Doebley, Catherine Peichel, David Wassarman, W.H. Freeman & Company, 2020.