Biology: Molecular Ecology and Evolution

The course is structured in three conceptual blocks; how genetic variation is used to understand differences between species, within species and the genetics of adaptations. In this course, you will learn the basic theory and the most important molecular genetic methods in modern ecological and evolutionary research projects. Central is to understand the importance of genetic variation, how it can be identified and used to address ecological and evolutionary questions. After the course, you are expected to master the basics of different types of methods used to detect and analyze variation at gene, genome and protein levels within and between individuals, populations and species. Emphasis is also placed on improving your ability to assimilate and critically review scientific articles based on molecular genetic data and analyses. This is practiced in the form of book and literature seminars as well as an individual literature project. The course ends with a research project that is carried out in small groups, where you have the opportunity to immerse yourself in one or more of the methods and problems that have been discussed earlier in the course.

After the course you should be (1) familiar with basic PCR and Sanger sequencing protocols and aware of techniques involving high-throughout sequencing, (2) know how these methods can be applied to organelle and nuclear DNA and used.

The course starts with exploring the topic of DNA-BarCoding, i.e. learning how species can be identified based on variation in DNA sequences. This is followed by how DNA sequences can be used to construct phylogenies of species. In parallel, there are lectures about molecular genetic methods and general concepts in genetics, genomics and transcriptomics. We then move forward to examine genetic variation within species and learn how such data is used in parental analyses and for population structure and inferring phylogeographic patterns. The final block explores how genetic variation code for phenotypic variation, i.e. adaptations, in present time, but we also take a broader perspective and analyze how selection has acted on DNA in evolutionary time. The course combines practical learning through wet labs (DNA extraction, PCR, DNA sequencing) and computer exercises for analysis of DNA sequences using various programs. Besides the core part of the course (10 credits) examined with as a written exam, there are two assignments of 2.5 credits each: (1) An individual literature project written as a mini-review (News&Views paper) on a subject within the concept of “genetics of adaptations” and (2) A research project in small groups (2-4 students) done in a research laboratory that is presented in a conference format at the end of the course.

Prerequisites

90 ECTS credits Science studies including courses corresponding to MOBA01 Cell Biology 15 ECTS credits and BIOA01 Genetics and Microbiology 15 ECTS credits. English 6/English Course B.

Selection criteria

Seats are allocated according to: ECTS (HPAV): 100 %.

Tuition fees for non-EU/EEA citizens

Citizens of countries outside:

• The European Union (EU)
• The European Economic Area (EEA) and
• Switzerland

are required to pay tuition fees. You pay an instalment of the tuition fee in advance of each
semester.

Tuition fees, payments and exemptions

Full programme/course tuition fee: SEK 42,500
First payment: SEK 42,500

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Note that you may also need to pay an application fee, or provide proof of exemption.

Application fee

No tuition fees for citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland

There are no tuition fees for citizens of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland.