Syllabus
Cell division and reproduction of organisms
Haploidy-diploidy, basis of cytogenetics - chromosome, mitosis, meiosis, structure and behaviour of chromosomes during cell cycle, B chromosomes, spermatogenesis and oogenesis
Model organisms in biology and genetics
Basic concepts of genetics
Heredity and variability, gene, allele, genotype, phenotype, dominance - recessivity - co-dominance, principles of segregation and combination, lethality, gene interactions - types, causes and manifestations
Gene expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes
Regulation of gene expression ? common attributes and differences, the effect of external and internal environment, developmental genetics, epigenetic regulation
Mutation and mutagenesis
Gene ? chromosome ? genome mutations, mutagenes, DNA repair, transposable elements, polyploidy ? eupolyploidy, aneuploidy, evolutionary role of mutations, process of speciation
Gene linkage
Recombination, crossing-over, linkage analysis, gene mapping
Genetic control of sex determination
Genetic and environmental sex determination in various organisms, lyonization, sex-linked, sex-limited and sex-influenced traits and their heredity
Extranuclear inheritance
Extranuclear genomes in the cell, their inheritance, interaction with nuclear genome, genomes of viruses and viroids
Quantitative genetics
Polygenic determination of traits, principles and methods of traditional and modern quantitative genetics, heritability
Human genetics
Pedigree analysis, examining twins, karyotype analysis, diagnostics of genetic diseases, gene therapy
Population and evolutionary genetics
Types of populations, Hardy-Weinberg´s law, genetic equilibrium forces that change gene frequencies in populations (selection, mutation, migration, genetic drift etc.)
Practical uses of genetics
Breeding and its methods (selection, mutagenesis, polyploidization, genetically modified organisms), forensic genetics, conservation genetics and endangered species programmes
Annotation
The lecture is specifically designed for students of "Biology oriented at education" programmes. It introduces them to the field of modern genetics, the knowledge of which is necessary for the understanding of the majority of other biological subjects and areas.
The lecture gives a summary of the basic genetic terms and rules, as well as of the contemporary trends in genetics (extranuclear inheritance, epigenetic, molecular evolution ...). At the same time, it offers opportunity to discuss the implications of the results of genetic research for the modern society (genetic diagnostics and gene therapy, forensic genetics, genetic engineering of plants and animals etc.).