Molecular Evolution
Understanding the theoretical concepts of molecular evolution and their application to solve biological questions.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
Understand the fundamental principles of molecular evolution, including mutation, selection, drift, and speciation, and how these processes shape genetic diversity.
Analyze genetic sequences to identify mutations and infer their effects on protein structure and function.
Use bioinformatics tools for phylogenetic tree reconstruction.
Apply population genetics models to interpret evolutionary dynamics at the molecular level.
This course is an introduction to molecular evolution. It starts with the origin and development of the theory of evolution and the basic laws of genetics. It introduces the concepts of genetic drift and selection and how to measure them. It also introduces the concept of species and the mechanisms of speciation. Finally, we will explore how to reconstruct phylogenetic trees using sequence data produced with modern sequencing technology and recent software.
1. DNA, RNA and protein
2. Replication and mutation
3. Building a genome
4. Gene
5. Selection
6. Drift and population genetics
7. Evolution of species
8. Using DNA to build phylogenies
9. Putting dates on trees
10.High throughput sequencing: the rise of genomics and transcriptomics
11.Working with genome-scale data: Annotation, gene orthology, RNAseq…
12.Genomics of symbiosis
13.Amplicon metagenomics and environmental DNA
14.Ancient DNA and protein
1/4 participation, 1/4 presentation, 1/2 homework and essay.
Assumes general knowledge in biology. Students of any field are welcome and should be able to follow the course.
An Introduction to Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics, by Lindell Bromham (2015) Oxford University Press