Syllabus Information

1. General information

1.1. Aims of the course

The subject and its expected results respond to the following approaches and objectives:

It is a basic training course within the first year of the Degree in Biotechnology that aims to transmit to the student the basic knowledge related to the characteristics of hereditary material and inheritance. Through the different activities, the following general objectives will be achieved:

- Knowledge of the nature and transmission of hereditary material

- Knowledge of genetic variability

- Knowledge of the basis of population genetics

1.2. Context and importance of this course in the degree

The subject of Genetics is integrated in the second term of the first course of the Degree in Biotechnology. It is a subject that provides specific skills not provided by any other subject. Some of the aspects covered in the subject of Genetics can also serve as a basis for some very specific aspects of other subjects such as Microbiology, Clinical Biotechnology, Molecular Biology, Animal Biotechnology, Plant Biotechnology or Environment Biotechnology.

1.3. Recommendations to take this course

For the good progress and understanding of the subject it is recommended to attend and participate in all the proposed activities.

2. Learning goals

2.1. Competences

By passing the course, the student will be more competent...

1. To know the nature and organization of the hereditary material.

2.    To Know the basis of transmission of hereditary material.

3.    To know the fundamentals and consequences of ligation and recombination.

4.    To know the basis of Population Genetics.

In addition to these specific skills, the student will be more competent:

- To solve specific problems from different perspectives.

- To analyze information critically.

- To present and discuss the issues in public.

2.2. Learning goals

In order to pass this course, the student must demonstrate the following results:

1. The student knows the nature and organization of the hereditary material,

2.    The student is able to apply to specific cases the basis of transmission of hereditary material through generations,

3.    The student includes the concepts of genetic linkage and recombination and their application to genetic maps,

4.    The student knows the basics of Population Genetics.

2.3. Importance of learning goals

This subject allows to know fundamental aspects of the functioning of living beings. It brings the student closer to the most important aspects and characteristics of hereditary material from a functional point of view in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, as well as to the different forms of distribution of this material and the repercussions on the resulting cells. It also allows the student to approach the consequences when the distribution is not carried out properly, as an example, the clinical repercussions of the variation or inadequate distribution of the hereditary material. The study is carried out both at individual and population level and provides an insight into the genetic constitution of individuals or populations depending on their parents or previous generations.

Many molecular aspects of genetics are not covered and they will be dealt with by other subjects, mainly in the third year.

3. Assessment (1st and 2nd call)

3.1. Assessment tasks (description of tasks, marking system and assessment criteria)

The student must demonstrate that he/she has achieved the learning outcomes through the following assessment activities:

1. Specific skills shall be assessed by means of a written test consisting of tests of short questions and problem solving and case studies. The oral test option is also open to students who find this type of assessment more appropriate. The result of the assessment, by means of the written test, of the theoretical knowledge acquired will be 60% of the mark.
2. The evaluation of the individual resolution of problems or cases will provide 15% of the final mark.
3. The active participation and the qualification of the test proposed at the end of each laboratory practice will provide 10% of the final grade.
4. The active participation in an innovative activity carried out by groups and that allows to value the acquisition of key terms and definitions of the subject will be valued with 15% of the note. The activity can vary according to the academic year: seminar discussion, trivial game, debates, crossword puzzle solving or any other activity proposed by the teachers of the subject.

In order to be taken into account the assessments of points 2, 3 and 4, the student must obtain a minimum score of 5 in the written test. In addition to the assessment mode indicated in the previous points, the student will have the possibility of being evaluated in an overall test, which will judge the achievement of the learning results indicated above. The syllabus that students must use to prepare the different tests can be found in the section "Activities and resources" of this same teaching guide.

4. Methodology, learning tasks, syllabus and resources

4.1. Methodological overview

The methodology followed in this course is oriented towards the achievement of the learning objectives. Students are expected to participate actively in class throughout the semester. Further information regarding the course will be provided on the first day of class A wide range of teaching and learning tasks are implemented, such as:

1) Participatory lectures: taught in a full group. The syllabus and additional material will be available on the ADD website of the University of Zaragoza.

http://add.unizar.es:800/newweb/web/index.html

2) Problems solving sessions: Different classroom sessions will be dedicated to the resolution of genetic problems that will have been previously given to the students so that they can work on them individually and facilitate the session to be participative and to resolve doubts. Theoretical and problem-solving classes will be interspersed, with no special schedule for either. Additionally, students will be given a collection of problems at the beginning of the course and one of the problems from this collection will be included in the final exam.

3) Laboratory practice sessions: These sessions will be of compulsory attendance except in exceptional cases. They will be carried out in small groups in two sessions of 3 hours each.

4) Computer practice sessions: These sessions will be of compulsory attendance except in exceptional cases. They will be carried out in small groups in two sessions of 2 hours each.

5) Individual problem or case resolution: Individually or in a group, the student will have to solve a practical case applying the theoretical and practical contents of the subject. This case will be delivered before the end of the course on paper or through the Moodle platform.

6) Complementary activities related to the subject matter of the course including: seminars on current news, debates, trivial games, crossword puzzle solving or any other activity designed to learn about genetics.

7) Small group tutorials for seminar preparation and problem solving.

8) Individualized tutorials for resolution of doubts. Tutorial hours will be flexible and agreed in advance with the group depending on the most convenient time. In addition, teachers will be able to resolve doubts through different systems, including Moodle, Meet or email, always respecting the rules and schedules that will be established with the group.

4.2. Learning tasks

The program offered to the student to help him/her achieve the expected results includes the following activities...

1) Participatory lectures taught in whole group.

2) Problems resolution classes taught in whole group.

3) Laboratory practices.

4) Computer practices.

5) Problems solving individually.

6) Complementary activities.

7) Individual tutorials or tutorials in small groups for preparation of seminars and troubleshooting or for solving doubts.

8) The material will be available on the website of the ADD of the University of Zaragoza. http://add.unizar.es:800/newweb/web/index.html.

The teaching and evaluation activities will be carried out in face-to-face mode, unless, due to the health situation, the provisions issued by the competent authorities and by the University of Zaragoza require them to be carried out telematically

4.3. Syllabus

Section I. Nature and organization of hereditary material.

Topic 1. DNA, genes and genomes. Chemical nature and structure of DNA. DNA replication. Transcription. Genetic code and translation. Genes, introns and exons. Types of eukaryotic DNA. Genomes: size and number of genes.

Topic 2. Organization of the hereditary material in eukaryotes. Nuclear hereditary material. Internal structure of eukaryotic chromosome. Levels of chromosome packing. Heterochromatin and euchromatin. Chromosomal bands. Types of DNA. External structure of the chromosome. Centromere position, size and number. Extranuclear genetic material.

Topic 3. Organization of the hereditary material in prokaryotes. Introduction. Hereditary material in Viruses. RNA viruses. DNA viruses. Hereditary material in Bacteria. Bacterial chromosome. Plasmids.

Section II. Transmission of hereditary material.

Topic 4. Chromosomal theory of inheritance. Introduction. Cell cycle. Mitosis and hereditary material. Variations in the process of cell division. Meiosis. Biological and genetic significance of meiosis. Atypical meiosis. Differences between mitosis and meiosis.

Topic 5. Chromosome mutations. Basic concepts. Classification of mutations. Chromosome mutations. Chromosomal rearrangements. Aneuploidy. Euploidy. Human karyotype

Topic 6. Mendelian inheritance as genetic consequence of meiosis and fertilization. Mendelian rules of inheritance. Monohybrids: uniformity and segregation rules. Dihybrids: rule of independent combination. Polihybrids. Knowledge of the genotype from the phenotype.

Topic 7. Extension of Mendelian analysis. Variations in genetic dominance. Allelic series. Several genes affecting the same character. Lethal genes. Penetrance and expressivity.

Topic 8. Sex determination and sex-linked characteristics. Genetic sex determination. X-linked inheritance. Y- linked inheritance. Influence of sex on the inheritance of certain characters: inheritance influenced by sex and limitation of the expression of the character by sex. Dosage compensation.

Section III. Linkage and recombination

Topic 9. Linked genes. Linkage discovery. Types of crosses to explain gene linkage. Coupling and repulsion. Complete and incomplete linkage. Crosslinking and chiasmata.

Topic 10. Genome mapping in eukaryotes. I. Linkage maps. Basic concepts for the construction of a linkage map. Mapping using a dihybrid testcross. Calculation of frequency of recombinants. Trihybrid testcross. Interference and coincidence. Relationship between genetic distance and frequency of recombination. Map unit and function map.

Topic 11. Genome mapping in eukaryotes. II. Physical maps. Interspecific somatic hybridization. In situ hybridization. DNA sequencing. Comparative mapping.

Section IV. Population genetics

Topic 12. Basic concepts of population genetics. Gene and genotypic frequencies and their estimation. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in autosomal and sex-linked genes.

Topic 13. Changes in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium I. Systematic processes. Effect of migration. Effect of mutation. Effect of selection in cases of complete dominance, incomplete dominance and selection in favour of the heterozygous. Mutation - selection balance.

Topic 14. Changes in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium II. Dispersive processes. Small populations. Genetic drift. Effective population size. Inbreeding and its effects. Inbreeding coefficient calculation.

4.4. Course planning and calendar

The period of theoretical classes and problems will coincide with that officially established. Please refer to the Facultad de Ciencias website https://ciencias.unizar.es/grado-en-biotecnologia and https://moodle2.unizar.es/add/. In this website, the dates of the exams will be communicated in the Degree of Biotechnology section.

The places where the sessions will be given, the calendar and the practice groups will be established in coordination with the rest of the subjects at the beginning of the course. The coordinator will set up the practice groups at the beginning of the course so as not to produce overlaps with other subjects.

The dates for the rest of the activities of the subject will be agreed with the students with enough time in advance and once agreed they will be communicated through Moodle.

4.5. Bibliography and recommended resources

http://biblos.unizar.es/br/br_citas.php?codigo=27105&year=2019