BIOL8702 Genetics, Evolution and Biodiversity GE

This topic covers advanced knowledge of the flow of genetic information from cell to cell and from parent to offspring, how the forces of selection impact on gene flow and ultimately how these processes shape the characteristics of species and biodiversity. It represents core and advanced information required by all Biology students. The practical component of the topic will cover modern molecular techniques that enable students to study gene flow, how populations are genetically structured, and how the Tree of Life can be reconstructed from genetic data. The practical classes will also assess students to generic skills of laboratory techniques and how this can be used in combination with field-based observations.

This topic aims to:

• Cover how genetic information flow from generation to generation, and in the formation of population and species structure
• Cover current biodiversity and how this has been shaped by the forces of evolution
• Vertically integrate principles of genetics and evolutionary theory so to provide an understanding of how events and processes at a cellular level, and that of the gene, effect and influence what happens at the level of an organism, a population and an ecosystem (and vice versa)
• Combine theory and practice to emphasise this vertical structure by following a single gene sequence from a variety of organisms to build a phylogenetic tree. The practical class provides the opportunity to introduce generic practical skills in laboratory-based biology

1. Understand principles of heredity, Mendelian genetics and its uses, selection, speciation theory
2. Work in a laboratory setting
3. Collate data collected in the laboratory and incorporate literature in a manuscript for publication
4. Discuss advanced materials in the discipline