LECTURES IN GENETICS AND GENOMICS: BIOMG 2800, FALL 2019

Professor: Dr. Thomas D. Fox tdf1@cornell.edu

Office, 335 Biotech. Bldg. Tel., 254-4835
Office Hours: Tues 2:00-3:00; Wed 2:00-3:00; also by appointment.

Lecturer: Dr. Kristina Blake kab69@cornell.edu

Office, 204 Biotech. Bldg. Tel. 254-4854
Office Hours: Wed 9:30-12:30; Fri 9:30-12:30; also by appointment.

Graduate TAs: Ms. Victoria Seranno mvs44@cornell.edu

Mr. Di Wu dw566@cornell.edu

Academic Integrity: Students are responsible for understanding, and adhering to, the Code of
Academic Integrity: http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/aic.cfm.*

Textbook: "Genetics, From Genes to Genomes" by Hartwell , et al. 6th Edition (2018). Offered
online from the Campus Store via "Instant Access." Instant Access/Connect Plus
section address: https://connect.mheducation.com/class/t-fox-fall-2019
(Note: hard copies of the text are on reserve at Mann Library.)

Optional Study Sessions: Group problem solving sessions supervised by undergraduate TAs will be
announced on Canvas.

Readings marked * below will be posted on Canvas.

LECTURE, READINGS AND EXAM SCHEDULE

Date Topic Chapter

R 8/29 Introduction: Genetics before and after Mendel 1&2

T 9/3 Gene interactions, Testing hypotheses 3

R 9/5 Chromosomes, Sex linkage 4

R 9/10 Linkage and Recombination 5 pp. 133-148

T 9/12 Genetic mapping 5 pp. 148-157

Intro to yeast, a haploid and diploid organism

R 9/17 A closer look at meiosis: Tetrad analysis and 5 pp. 157-162

gene conversion 6 pp. 201-209

T 9/19 Human pedigrees and mapping with 11 pp. 383-385

them (LOD scores) LOD Handout*,
Probability excerpt (Jorde)*

T 9/24 Allele distributions in populations 21 pp. 713-731

R 9/26 Mitotic recombination 5 pp. 164-167

Chromosome aberrations 13 pp. 436-447
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T 10/1 First Preliminary Exam: Covers material through 9/24

R 10/3 Chromosome aberrations 13 pp. 447-453; 460-472

T 10/8 Bacteria: Transformation, Mutation, 6 pp. 181-195; 7 pp. 219-239

Mutagenesis

R 10/10 Bacterial conjugation, Plasmids, 14 pp. 487-508

Interspecies gene transfer

FALL BREAK

R 10/17 Lytic phage, Generalized transduction 7 pp. 239-250

Gene structure: Intragenic recombination
and complementation

T 10/22 Proteins as gene products 7 pp. 250-258

Prions as heritable elements

R 10/24 Genetic codes, Nonsense suppression 8

T 10/29 Gene regulation in bacteria, Lysogenic phage λ 16

R 10/31 Second Preliminary Exam: Covers material from 9/20 through 10/24

T 11/5 Tools for studying genomes 9; 11 pp. 371-375

R 11/7 Genome structure 10

T 11/12 Transposable genetic elements 13 pp. 453-460

R 11/14 Gene regulation in eukaryotes 17 pp. 583-594; 600-605

Post-transcriptional regulation by micro RNAs Reference C* pp. 49-55 & 66-
67

T 11/19 Non-Mendelian inheritance, Epigenetic regulation, 17 pp. 594-600

Mitochondrial DNA 15

R 11/21 Experimental manipulation of eukaryotic 18

genomes 1: Budding yeast and larger eukaryotes Reference A* pp. 6-8
Reference E* pp. 109-115

T 11/26 Third Preliminary Exam: Covers material from 10/23 through 11/21!

THANKSGIVING

T 12/3 Experimental manipulation of eukaryotic

genomes 2: Targeted endonucleases and
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homologous DNA Repair; CRISPR; Gene Drives

R 12/5 DNA polymorphisms as genome-wide genetic 11

markers 22 pp. 759-767

T 12/10 Quantitative traits, Genetics of behavior 21

SAT. 12/14/19 FINAL EXAM, 9:00 AM. You must plan to be here!

*Course materials posted on Canvas are intellectual property belonging to the author. Students are
not permitted to buy or sell any course materials without the express permission of the
instructor. Such unauthorized behavior constitutes academic misconduct.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After successfully completing BIOMG 2800, students should be able to:

1. Understand and describe basic principles of inheritance, gene expression, and genomic structure
in the context of biological evolution.

2. Think analytically about the applications of basic principles of inheritance and gene expression to
interpretations of naturally occurring and experimental biological phenomena.

3. Understand how genetics provides an experimental approach that can be used to investigate
almost any aspect of biology.

4. Develop an appreciation that genetics is important to future progress in medical sciences.

5. Develop problem solving skills employing logical thought.

6. Apply quantitative reasoning, basic probability/statistics and experimental controls to the

interpretation of genetic data.