Lectures will use Dahlia, Zea (corn), Petunia, Solanum (tomato), and Arabidopsis genetic examples (with cloned and sequenced genes) to introduce concepts such as:
Date |
Lecture Topic |
Question |
April 2 |
Key features of the plant life cycle
Sample Problem Sets |
- How do the alternation of generation & meristems impact plant genetics?
|
April 4 |
Review of Mendel's Laws |
- Linkages
- Indepedent assortment
|
April 7 |
Anthocyanin genes
|
- What is a tester strain?
- Complementation and non-complementation crosses.
|
April 9 |
More about testers Problem Set #1 Due
|
- Genetic strategies; when is outcrossing more efficient than selfing to confirm genotype?
|
| April 11 |
Discussion #1 |
- Discuss methods and results of assigned paper.
|
April 14 |
Epistasis |
- How can genes be ordered in a pathway?
|
April 16 |
Gametophyte advantage & sporophytic incompatability
Problem Set #2 Due
|
- Exceptions to Mendel's laws.
- Failure to transmit some alleles?
|
| April 18 |
Discussion #2 |
- Discuss methods and results of assigned paper.
|
April 21 |
Gametophyte self-
incompatibility
|
- How can you pollinate a "reluctant" flower?
|
April 23 |
Cytoplasmic inheritance
Draft of Midterm Paper Due |
- Which parent transmits the organelles?
|
| April 25 |
Discussion #3 |
- Discuss methods and results of assigned paper.
|
| April 28
|
Cytoplasmic male sterility
Midterm Paper Due
|
- Collaboration between mitochondrial & nuclear genes is required for pollen function.
|
April 30 |
Clonal analysis & grafting |
- How does "information" move in the plant?
|
| May 2 |
Discussion #4 |
- Discuss methods and results of assigned paper.
|
May 5 |
Transposable elements |
- Rapid proliferation of somatic and heritable alleles
|
May 7 |
Imprinting
Problem Set #3 Due |
- Where/when are alleles from the maternal & paternal genomes differentially expressed?
|
| May 9 |
Discussion #5 |
- Discuss methods and results of assigned paper.
|
May 12 |
Paramutation |
- Allelic interactions reset gene expression
|
May 14 |
ABC model of floral form
Problem Set #4 Due |
- How does combinatorial gene action establish floral organ identity?
|
| May 16 |
Discussion #6 |
- Discuss methods and results of assigned paper.
|
May 19 |
Anther cell specification |
- Without a germ line, how do plants conduct meiosis?
|
May 21 |
New tools for plant genetic & molecular analysis
Problem Set #5 Due
|
- Arrays, proteomics, & high throughput gene cloning.
- Guest lecturer Dr. Dave Skibbe
|
May 23
&
May 26
|
Memorial Day holiday |
|
May 28 |
GMO case study: Bt
Problem Set #6 Due |
- Is a green transgene better than a chemical spray to control insects?
|
May 30 |
GMO case study: nutrition |
- Golden rice, vitamin enhancement.
- Can technology improve animal & human diets?
- What have we learned about plant genetics that could be used to design better transgenes?
- What could be used to monitor or control (or eliminate) transgenes already in use?
|
June 2
&
June 4
|
Student Reports
Final Paper Due
|
- 10 minutes on a special lab project
- Explain final paper thesis
|
