Agronomy Genetics Online Course Syllabus

Transcription

1 Agronomy Genetics Online Course Syllabus Instructors: Deanna Leingang, MS, CGC Deanna.Leingang@gmail.com Dr. Don Lee, 262 Plant Sciences, , dlee1@unl.edu at home Diane Nolan, Computer Information Assistant, dnolan2@unlnotes.unl.edu Contact Diane for problems with Blackboard Objectives: The course is divided into three units and weekly lessons for each unit. Learning objectives are listed in the folder for each lesson. Overall course objectives are listed below. Grading: Lab Problem Sets: (25%) Weekly problem sets + oral questions = 20 points each week. A Blackboard question set will be avoilable at 7 pm Thursday each week based on the weekly problem set questions. This is due on Mondays of the following week. Online students will complete their oral questions using the discussion board for the class found at You will post your detailed response showing comprehension of the oral question and weekly content. Initially, you will not be required to post replies to your classmates unless specifically stated for that week s assignment; however, I encourage you to use the discussion forum to generate ideas about the oral questions, as they are usually completed as a group in the on-campus class setting. Online Learning Quizzes: (10%) Learning quizzes will be posted in Blackboard following each lecture. They relate directly to the lecture material. For the on-campus class, they will only be available until midnight of the day they are posted (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). For the online students, the quizzes from each week will be due each Monday (the day your weekly problem sets are due). Passwords for each quiz will be sent to you. Please feel free to work with each other (via the discussion board, online classroom, or in person) to complete these learning quizzes. Review Quizzes: (15%) These quizzes are given on Blackboard. You can take each quiz twice and your best score is used for each lesson quiz. These are due the day of each unit exam.

2 Hour Exams: (30%) (three exams, given 2/10; 3/16, 4/20 on campus). For online students located in Lincoln, you may either take your exam on the exam date during the on-campus class or you may take your exam in the Goodding Learning Center. Prior to each exam, Diane Nolan will set up a discussion board post so that you can sign up for a time to come in and take your test. For each exam, please indicate whether you will be taking the exam with the on-campus class or during a time pre-arranged with Diane. For those of you who are true distance students, you will require a proctor for your exams. Please me as soon as possible so that I may send you the appropriate information and we can secure a proctor and exam date well ahead of time. *Please note, Blackboard is an imperfect system, and occasionally the connection will crash as a student submits their exam answers. I urge you to please click save all every ten minutes or so as you take an exam to safeguard your answers. This will prevent you from having to begin the test from scratch in the unlikely event of a crash. Final: (20%) (TBA, we will adhere to the Finals week schedule) Optional Extra Credit: We will create a class bulletin board that will tell you about options for extra credit projects during the semester. You can complete up to four of these projects and earn up to 20 extra points that are added to your exam total. Letter grades: Grading is criterion based, not curved. We will total the points you earned in each category above, add the extra credit if you successfully completed it, and assign final grades based on the following scale. Grade A+ A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- Lowest percent Grade points Course Structure / Lesson Topics/ Lesson Quizzes The course is divided into three parts. The lesson topics and on-line lesson quizzes go with these three parts as follows. Due dates for online lesson quizzes are the Monday of the week of each unit exam. Part I: Molecular Genetics: Gene Function and Genetic Engineering DNA and DNA analysis (week 1) Genetic Engineering (week 2) Gene Expression (week 3) Gene Cloning (week 4) Gene expression analysis (week 5)

3 Exam #1 (week 5) Part I: Inheritance in Families and Populations Monohybrid Crosses (week 6) Pedigrees (week 6) Dihybrid Crosses (week 7) Lack of Dominance (week 7) Epistasis (week 8) Quantitative Genetics (week 8) Population Genetics (week 9) Chi-Square Analysis (week 9) Sex Linked Inheritance (week 10) Exam #2 Review (Week 10) SPRING BREAK Part III: Chromosomes Gene Mapping Cell Division (week 11) Chromosome Variation (week 12) Linked Genes (week 13) Gene Mapping (week 13) Constructing gene maps (week 13) Map based cloning and QTL mapping (week 14) Exam #3 Review DEAD Week is Final Exam prep, Lorenzo s Oil Final Exam is Comprehensive and written by both the students and the teachers and will include 1 lesson quiz. Internet Lessons at The 22 Internet lessons assigned are listed below. We will assign each lesson during the week we work on this topic. Many of the lesson quizzes you take on-line come from these lessons. Week Just the facts 1 DNA and DNA extraction 1 Electrophoresis 1 PCR 2 Overview of Crop Genetic Engineering 2 Protein detection 2 Gene Cloning 2 Gene Design 1: Gene regions 2 Gene Design 2: Gene constructs 2

4 Transformation 1: Tissue Culture 2 Transformation 2: Transformation methods 2 Transformation 3: Events 2 Gene Expression 1: Reading genes and making proteins 3 Gene Expression 2: Expression of herbicide resistant ALS genes in plants 3 Gene Cloning Part 1: The mechanics of recombinant DNA 4 Gene Cloning Part 2: Making and screening gene libraries 4 Inheritance of Variation 6 Dihybrid crosses and independent assortment 7 Quantitative traits 8 Mitosis, meiosis and the cell cycle 11 Linkage, part 1 13 Linkage, part 2 13 Academic Honesty Policy: University policies outlined in the UNL Undergraduate Bulletin regarding instances of academic dishonesty will be followed. Internet Lessons at The Internet lessons assigned are listed above. You should take the elibrary practice quizzes after reading each lesson to assess your understanding of the concepts presented in that lesson. We will assign each lesson during the week we work on this topic. Many of the lesson quizzes you take on-line come from these lessons. Textbooks: We do not require a textbook for this course since assigned reading is all online. Many genetics textbooks available through on-line retailers would be good references for this course. If you are on campus, you have access to 5-6 texts to look over and determine if they would be a good investment. Two texts students have purchased in the past include: 1) Essential Genetics, a Genomic Perspective, 4 th Ed. by Hartl and Jones. Publisher: Jones and Bartlett. 2) Genetics from Genes to Genomes, 3 rd Ed. by Hartwell, Hood, et al. Publisher: McGraw Hill Overall course learning objective 1. Recognize the pattern of inheritance observed when traits are controlled by autosomal or X-linked genes. Apply the principles of segregation and independent assortment in explaining results of inheritance. 2. Contrast the inheritance and phenotypic variation expected with quantitative versus qualitative traits. 3. Plan genetic experiments that will determine the genetic basis for the inheritance of specific traits. Describe how data collection and analysis would vary when studying traits that are qualitative compared to quantitative traits.

5 4. Compare the study of genetic variation in populations and families. Predict changes in the genetic variation of populations when forces such as selection or migration are at work. 5. Describe the relationship between genes and chromosomes and predict how phenotypic variation will be inherited based on this relationship and chromosome behavior during sexual reproduction. 6. Contrast polyploid and diploid organisms relative to origin, genetic variability and trait inheritance. 7. Evaluate chromosome changes that originate from translocations or nondysjunction. 8. Plan genetic experiments designed to map genes. Evaluate data from these experiments and determine gene maps from this data. 9. Describe DNA analysis techniques that are used to observe genetic variation and propose the use of these techniques in studies designed to map genes, make inheritance predictions, or assign genotypes. 10. Outline the gene expression process and describe how genes store information to control traits. Predict how variation in the gene will result in phenotype variation in the organism. 11. Describe the process of gene cloning and propose a strategy to clone a particular gene. 12. Describe the process of genetic engineering and gene therapy. Propose the application of these technologies in agriculture and medicine.