ABOUT THE COURSE:The course provides a fundamental understanding of heredity and variation principles. It covers basic Mendelian genetics, extensions of Mendelian concepts, and cytoplasmic inheritance. Students will learn how genetic information is transmitted in eukaryotes and prokaryotes, the interactions of genes within biological systems, and the molecular basis of these processes. Additionally, the course explores the role of chromosomes in determining sex and discusses various chromosomal anomalies that can impact human development.INTENDED AUDIENCE: UG studentsPREREQUISITES: 12th Pass

Syllabus

Week 1 :Elements of heredity and variations• Mendel's laws and the historical importance of the discovery• Chromosomal basis of inheritance• Discovery of sex chromosomes• Application of laws of probability to Mendelian inheritance: product rule, sum rule, binomial expansion• Chi-square test and its application
Week 2: Extension of Mendelism• Dominance relationships• Multiple allelism, Lethal alleles• Pleiotropy, polygeny• Penetrance, and expressivity and Phenocopy• Epistasis
Week 3: various ways to determine sex and inheritance of sexual traits• Sex chromosome systems: XX/XO, ZZ/ZW and haploidy/diploidy• Comparison of XY system in Drosophila and Human• Sex-influenced and Sex-limited traits• Environmental control of sex determination
Week 4: Different types of inheritance patterns• Quantitative inheritance• Genetic Maternal effect (snail)• Cytoplasmic Inheritance: Extranuclear Inheritance• Cytoplasmic Inheritance: Infective Inheritance
Week 5: Gene mutations• Spontaneous mutations• Induced mutations• Molecular basis of mutation• Detection of mutation (Ames’ test and ClB technique in Drosophila)• DNA damage repair
Week 6: Gene mapping in prokaryotes• Conjugation• Transduction• Sex duction• Transformation• rII locas in phage
Week 7: Gene mapping on eukaryotic Chromosomes• Linkage and crossing over interference and coincidence• Two point test cross• Three point test cross• Tetrad analysis• Cytological demonstration of crossing over in Drosophila
Week 8:Chromosomal alterations• Numerical alterations of chromosomes• Structural alterations of chromosomes: deletion, duplication inversion, translocation• Meiotic consequences in inversion heterozygotes• Meiotic consequences in translocation heterozygotes• Using inversion heterozygotes as crossover suppressors: Balancer chromosomes
Week 9: Human Genetics: Pedigree analysis• Making a pedigree chart showing dominant and recessive traits• Analysis of Autosomal traits• Analysis of Sex linked traits• Sex limited traits• Genetic counselling
Week 10: Human Genetics: Chromosome analysis• Karyotype• Banding techniques (G- banding)• Other bandings and their significance• Utilization of chromosome banding in karyotyping• Nomenclature of G-banded chromosome subdivisions
Week 11: Human Genetics: Genetic disorders• Chromosomal aneuploidy (Down, Turner and Klinefelter syndromes)• Chromosome translocation (chronic myeloid leukemia and Burkitt Lymphoma)• Chromosome deletion (cry of cat syndrome and retinoblastoma)• Gene mutation: (cystic fibrosis, hemophilia and sickle cell anemia)• An introduction to genes and cancer
Week 12: Regulation of gene activity in eukaryotes• Transcription unit• Initiation of transcription• Transcription factors: repressors, activators• Enhancers and silencers• Concept of epigenetic regulation