Entry requirements

Alt . 1) 120 credits in the engineering programme in molecular biotechnology. Alt . 2) 120 credits. 15 credits in the Master's (120 credits) programme in bioinformatics.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course the student should be able to

• describe evolutionary processes that give rise to variation in sequences and genomes and how these influence the architecture of the genome, contents and variation in base composition
• explain and justify different models for sequence and genome evolution
• choose, apply and evaluate bioinformatics methods for studying genetic variation in and between species.

Content

The course will cover the mutational processes; the evolutionary forces affecting mutations; the evolution of DNA sequences; the molecular clock; selection and drift at the molecular level; how variation in nucleotide composition gives rise to polymorphisms and SNPs. It will also cover the basic mechanisms that generate variation in genomes and how these affect the genome, including recombination, duplication, horizontal gene transfer, and mutational biases. We will also address models for sequence and genome evolution, including the statistical methods for analysing evolutionary processes, for example selection based on sequence data.

Instruction

Lectures, seminars, computer exercises and projects.

Assessment

Written examination (2 credits), computer exercises (2 credits), written presentation of project (1 credit).