Molecular Biology and Genetics
| Code | Completion | Credits | Range | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A6M33MBG | Z,ZK | 4 | 3+1c | Czech |
- Lecturer:
- Zdeněk Sedláček (gar.)
- Tutor:
- Zdeněk Sedláček (gar.)
- Supervisor:
- Department of Cybernetics
- Synopsis:
-
The goal of the subject is to broaden the knowledge in the fields of molecular biology and genetics, to give a more detailed overview of principles of the methods used, and to demonstrate the overlap of these fields into the modern biomedicine. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the thought of modern molecular biology and genetics, on the questions asked and problems solved, and on the increasing challenges to find new ways of processing of the large volumes of data generated by the current experiments. The course will also present a number of real cases analyzed in the laboratory of medical molecular genetics, including the bioinformatic approaches used.
- Requirements:
-
No entry requirements.
To obtain the credit needed to participate and a minimum
activity.
- Syllabus of lectures:
-
1. Principles of organization and functioning of living matter 1. Basic features of living systems. Life and evolution of organisms. Acellular, unicellular and multicellular forms of life, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Building blocks, structure and ultrastructure of cells.
2. Principles of organization and functioning of living matter 2. Enzymes, metabolism, cellular transport, motility and cell division. Relations between cells in multicellular organisms, signalling, cell types. Asexual and sexual reproduction, diploidy. Relationships between organisms in an ecosystem.
3. The flow of genetic information in living systems. The central dogma of molecular biology, gene expression and phenotype. Information macromolecules: nucleic acids, proteins. Processes: replication, transcription, translation, repair. Genome, transcriptome, proteome.
4. The structure of genetic information. Types and structure of genes and genomes. Unique and repetitive DNA, mobile elements. Structure and function of chromosomes. Genome projects. Evolution of genes and genomes, gene families, comparative genomics, model organisms.
5. Methods to study the structure of genetic information. Isolation of nucleic acids, their fragmentation and electrophoresis. DNA amplification using PCR. DNA hybridization, Southern method. Cloning of DNA, DNA libraries, physical mapping of chromosomes. 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation DNA sequencing. Strategies, organization and output of genome projects.
6. Variability of genetic information. The concept of polymorphism and mutation. Types of variability and how variability is generated. Genetic variability in populations and factors affecting it. DNA fingerprinting.
7. Methods to study the variability of genetic information. Scanning and screening methods to detect point mutations. Methods using capillary electrophoresis, real-time PCR, FISH. DNA arrays for resequencing, genotyping and detection of copy number changes. Hybridization-based capture of DNA segments for further analysis.
8. Expression of genetic information. Regulation of gene expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Levels of gene expression and regulation. Interaction between genes and their products, epigenetics. Properties of transcriptome and proteome of model organisms.
9. Methods to study the expression of genetic information. Conventional methods of study of RNA and protein: Northern and Western blot, 2D protein gels. DNA arrays to study gene expression. SAGE, sequencing of transcripts, real-time PCR. Protein chips.
10. Heredity on the level of the (human) body. Interaction of alleles at one locus, types of monogenic inheritance, Mendel's laws. Polygenic and multifactorial inheritance, interaction of alleles from different loci, modifier genes. Gene linkage and genetic mapping, linkage disequilibrium, haplotypes and their analysis. Special cases: extranuclear inheritance, X-inactivation, genome imprinting.
11. Expression of genes in health and disease. Control of the cell cycle, cancer. Control of human development, sex determination, developmental defects.
12. Genetics of the immune system, interaction with pathogens. Hereditary disorders and their molecular pathology and diagnostics. Identification of disease genes, whole-genome linkage and association studies.
13. Genes and society, perspectives. Historical milestones in biology and genetics. Genetic literacy, the problems of modern genetics, gene patenting, commercial genetic testing.Personalized medicine, pharmacogenomics. Gene therapy, stem cells, cloning. Intelligent drug design, the use of recombinant DNA, transgenic organisms.
14. Reserve.
- Syllabus of tutorials:
-
Excursion to the medical genetics department, where the original data is generated. SW processing of the medical data in a computer classroom and a paper on the results obtained.
- Study Objective:
-
The goal of the subject is to broaden the knowledge in the fields of molecular biology and genetics, to give a more detailed overview of principles of the methods used, and to demonstrate the overlap of these fields into the modern biomedicine. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the thought of modern molecular biology and genetics, on the questions asked and problems solved, and on the increasing challenges to find new ways of processing of the large volumes of data generated by the current experiments. The course will also present a number of real cases analyzed in the laboratory of medical molecular genetics, including the bioinformatic approaches used.
- Study materials:
-
[1] B. Alberts, D. Bray, A. Johnson, J. Lewis, M. Raff, K. Roberts, P. Walter: Essential Cell Biology. Garland Science,2009 (3rd ed.), ISBN-13: 978-0-8153-4130-7.
[2] D. J. Pritchard, B. R. Korf: Medical Genetics at a Glance. Blackwell, 2007. (2nd ed.) ISBN-13: 978-14-0514-846-7.
[3] T. Strachan, A. Read: Human Molecular Genetics. Garland Science, 2003 (3rd ed.) ISBN-13: 978-0-8153-4182-6.
(2nd ed. available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=hmg)
- Note:
- Time-table for winter semester 2011/2012:
- Time-table is not available yet
- Time-table for summer semester 2011/2012:
-
06:00–08:0008:00–10:0010:00–12:0012:00–14:0014:00–16:0016:00–18:0018:00–20:0020:00–22:0022:00–24:00
Mon Tue Fri Thu Fri - The course is a part of the following study plans: