NBIA09043U Population Genetics

The amount of molecular genetic data (especially nucleotide sequences) has increased tremendously in recent years and is expected to explode as the next generation sequencing methods become standard tools. This has implications for a wide spectrum of biological disciplines spanning conservation genetics, molecular ecology, molecular medicine, genome research and evolutionary biology. The purpose of the course is to provide the students with knowledge about the principles of population genetics and phylogenetics and their applications in the diverse areas mentioned above. In addition, the course will train the students to choose suitable methods to analyze molecular genetic data.

Skills:

By completing the course the student has learned how to analyse population genetic data and to explain how they have been influenced by:

• Natural selection
• Genetic drift and inbreeding
• Population structure
• Mutation

The student has obtained skills within the disciplines

• Evolutionary quantitative genetics
• Phylogenetic inference (using distance, parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods)
• Population genomics
• Human population genetics

and will be able to communicate in writing the results of an analysis of a selected topic within the subject field.

Competencies:

By completing the course the student can:

• employ basic population genetic and phylogenetic principles
• discuss, put into perspective, and criticize original research papers in population genetics and phylogenetics
• choose the most suitable molecular methods to analyze a particular hypothesis
• choose the most suitable analytical tools to analyze molecular genetic data
• perform statistical analyses of population genetic and phylogenetic data, present the results, and put them into perspective