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BIOLOGIA

Teaching Staff

FRANCESCO LOMBARDO - Module Zoology - BIO/05 - 7 CFU
CONCETTA FEDERICO - Module Principles of genetic - BIO/18 - 6 CFU

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Learning Objectives

• Zoology
  

  The goal of course is to give students the basic knowledge on the organization processes of the livings

• Principles of genetic
  

  Graduates in Environmental and Natural Sciences, studing Genetics acquires knowledge to analysis of Mendelian inheritance characters. They acquires the general principles of distribution of alleles in natural populations. They acquires the basic knowledge concerning the structure and organization of DNA, and general principles of gene expression. They knows the different types of mutations and their phenotypic effects . They acquires knowledge about the main methods of DNA analysis and its polymorphisms. He learns to find and use the main telematic databases and the scientific literature.

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Detailed Course Content

• Zoology
  

  The biological molecules: Proteins, Lipids, sugars, nucleic acid. Origin of life. Virus, Bacteria, Protozoa, Metazoi. The cell. Mitosis and Meiosis. Asexual and sexual reproduction. Mendel. The biological evolution, Lamark, Darwin, the natural selection. The origin of the species.

• Principles of genetic
  

  Transmission Genetics: principles from Mendel; genotype and phenotype. Relations between the alleles: complete and incomplete dominance, co-dominance and recessivity. Multiple alleles. The Epistasis. The Chromosomal basis of Heredity. Mitosis: chromosome configuration at different stages of cell cycle. Meiosis: random assortment of chromosomes, crossing-over and gametes formation. Haploidy and diploidy. The Chromosomal theory of heredity: the Morgan experiments. Gene linkage and genetic mapping . The frequency of recombination and the degree of linkage. Probability and statistics to analyze the transmission of Mendelian traits. Expected and observed number in genetic experiments: The chi-square test. The pedigree analysis in the study of inherited traits.

  Population Genetics: allele and genotype frequencies. Mendelian populations and Hardy-Weinberg principle for loci with two alleles. Genetic variability and mutations, mechanisms of variation in the genetic structure of populations (outline).

  Identification of DNA as molecule of Heredity: Griffith, Avery-McLeod-MacCarty, Hershey and Chase experiments. The structure of DNA and RNA molecules. Complementarity between the base pairs in DNA molecules. The semiconservative DNA replication, general features of DNA replication. Characteristics of the virus, prokaryotes and eukaryotes genomes. Organization of Eukaryotic chromosomes. The human karyotype: main methods to preparation and analysis. The expression of DNA. Organization of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genes. The gene expression. The untranslated genes: the ribosomal and transfer RNAs. The property of the genetic code and the biosynthesis of protein. Analysis of DNA polymorphisms.

  Mutations in somatic and germ cells. Molecular basis of mutations: spontaneous mutations and mistakes in DNA replication. Mutagenic environmental factors: physical, chemical and biological agents. Genetic mutations: definition and phenotypic effects. Mutations in the number and in the structure of the chromosome.

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Textbook Information

• Zoology
  

  1- De Bernardi, Balsamo etc. Zoologia. Parte generale. Ed. Idelson Gnocchi

  2- W.K. Purves, D. Sadana, G.H. Orians e H. Craig Heller - Biologia: La Cellula. Ed. Zanichelli.

• Principles of genetic
  

  Russel. GENETICA: UN APPROCCIO MOLECOLARE. Pearson Italia, Milano.

  Griffiths e altri. GENETICA: PRINCIPI DI ANALISI FORMALE. Zanichelli, Bologna.

  Hartl & Jones. GENETICA IN UNA PROSPETTIVA GENOMICA. Idelson-Gnocchi Editore. Napoli.

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