300644 VO Molecular Evolution and Cytogenetic (2008S)

Part Loidl: The Cytogenetics part deals with the chromosomes as the carriers of genetic information. The following topics are addressed: The organization of the eukaryotic genome ¿ molecular composition and conformational change of chromosomes in the cell cycle. Mitosis. Meiosis ¿ recombination and segregation as the basis of Mendels laws. Karyosystematics and chromosomal evolution. Human cytogenetics, clinical human cytology, cancer cytogenetics. Chromosomal sex determination. Special cases: Lampbrush chromosomes, polyteny, chromosomes of dinoflagellates, holocentric chromosomes, amitotic nuclear division and their functions and adaptive values.
Part Schleper/Technau:
The subject of the second part of the lecture will be the basic structure and composition of bacterial, archaeal, and eucaryotic genomes and their evolution. Fundamental mechanisms of molecular evolution will be explained such as gene duplication, genome duplication, gene conversion, exon shuffling, transposition, mutation and conservation of DNA and protein sequences, saturation of observed substitutions, molecular clock. Further, mechanisms and role of lateral gene transfer between procaryotes will be discussed.